Wolf in a Sheepsuit
by libraryloser
Summary: Between his furry problem and new head boy duties, Remus Lupin has a lot to deal with in his seventh year. But when he falls unusually hard for a pretty new girl, the Marauders think something very suspicious is going on...
1. First Days are Hectic

**A/N: Back so soon! This one has a twist, so keep reading and reviewing!**

**First Days are Hectic**

Remus Lupin grinned as he stepped on to the train platform. Another crisp fall morning, another wonderful new year at Hogwarts, more wisdom to be gleaned, a new class of first years… he could remember his own first day: the wonder and anticipation of--

"Moony, you're not doing that thing where you narrate your life in your head all sentimental-like, are you? Because you're holding up the line." James Potter pushed him forward with a smile and Remus snapped back to reality.

"Oy, don't shove! It's our last year, you can't expect me not to be a bit sentimental."

"To the contrary," James replied smartly, "I have lots of expectations to be upheld by the new head boy."

"Such as?"

He never found out what James's expectations were, because at that moment their conversation was interrupted by a cry of distress. A small, rat-faced boy came flying between them glanced around nervously.

Remus frowned. "What is the matter with—"

But the problem became apparent when they heard a shout from across the platform. Sirius Black came barreling towards them, very angry and holding the left side of his face in pain. "Peter Pettigrew, I am going to murder you!"

Peter tried to hide behind James to no avail, as James was a good deal thinner than he was. Sirius tried to push past James with throttling Peter in mind, but Remus held him back. By this time, most everyone on the platform had stopped to watch.

"Alright, what happened?" Remus asked, straining to hold Sirius back.

"I'll tell you what happened!" Sirius shouted as Peter cowered behind James. "I was chatting up Eliza Allen—"

"Who's that?" James interrupted.

Sirius rolled his eyes. "Only the best-looking sixth year in Gryffindor. And I was about to ask her to Hogsmeade—"

"That's weeks away!"

"James, don't interrupt! I was about to ask her to Hogsmeade when this _rat_ here used a wind charm to blow her skirt upwards, and naturally she thought _I'd_ done it, and she pulled out this bottle thinger and sprayed this horrible stuff on me and my face _burns_!"

Remus leaned in to take a closer look. "Eliza's a muggleborn… I think she pepper-sprayed you!" He doubled over laughing.

Sirius wasn't amused. "I don't care what she did, the question is how can you fix it!? And how am I supposed to get a new Hogsmeade date looking like _this!_" He took his hand away from his face to reveal a swollen, watery eye that was redder than Lily Evans's hair.

At that, Remus and James were laughing so hard that Sirius was able to push Remus away and tackle Peter to the ground. Remus and James left them to their scuffle, boarded the scarlet train behind them and hunted down an empty compartment.

Just as they had begun a game of Gobstones, Sirius and Peter trudged in, the latter more bruised than the former but both quite battered, followed by a pretty red headed girl who cleared her throat (as if she _needed_ to do anything to catch James's attention).

"Alright, Evans?" He said in a voice that was much deeper than his usual tone. The other boys sniggered.

"Hullo, James," she replied dismissively, although James sat up straighter since she replied at all. She gave an amused glance at the tattered Sirius and Peter before she turned to Remus. "Remus, we need to head up the prefect meeting in the second compartment."

"You're head girl, then?" asked Remus.

"Naturally," James smiled.

Lily nodded, pretending she hadn't heard James and trying not to appear flattered. "So I'll see you there?"

Remus nodded. "Of course, I'll be along in just a minute."

Lily turned and exited the compartment, and James looked out the window in an effort not to eye her legs as she went. The other boys weren't fooled.

Sirius smirked at him. "So you still have a thing for Evans?"

James shook his head at himself. "Always. But I'm telling you, mate, this is the year for me."

"Keep telling yourself that."

Peter elbowed him. "I don't know, James. I think maybe she was trying to hold back a smile when you said hi. And maybe her neck turned pink a little."

James gave him a look of appreciation. "Thanks, man."

Remus stood up quickly. "Well, I'd better get going. See you guys later."

They vaguely acknowledged his leaving as he slid out the door and headed down the hall. After going maybe two meters, he ran directly into a girl with a tall stack of books in her arms. The books went tumbling to the floor with a clatter and the girl cursed and stomped her foot.

"Sorry," Remus muttered, and he bent to help the girl, who had plopped onto the floor and begun scooping her books into a pile.

"Don't worry about it," she muttered, brushing a lock of dull, mousy brown hair behind her ear. "I probably tripped myself, I'm dead clumsy."

"Still, I should be looking where I'm going."

"Yes, well…" she glanced up at him for the first time, blushed, and looked back down at her books.

Remus brushed off this odd behavior and handed her last book to her, helping her to her feet. "I'm sorry I have to run, but I have to get to the prefect meeting."

"You're a prefect?"

"Head boy." He put his hand out to her. "Remus Lupin."

"Tonks," she replied, not meeting his eye.

"That's a… unique name."

"It's my surname," she replied, finally looking up with another blush. "And I'm not telling you my first, so don't bother to ask."

Remus decided to once again ignore her peculiar behavior and nodded. "Alright, well take care of yourself, Tonks."

She gave him the tiniest smile and turned around, half jogging down the corridor as though she were frightened of him.

Remus took only a moment to stand there in confusion before turning to leave, himself.

When he walked into the prefect compartment, he was greeted by a smile from Lily Evans and nervous looks from the little herd of fifth and sixth years.

"Alright, so we're ready to begin," she said. "I will pass out patrolling schedules at our first prefect meeting, which will be next Tuesday at seven thirty in room 208, that's in the left wing on the second floor. Remus and I will handle it until then. I don't think we need to explain that you guys should never abuse any of your authority and take advantage of other houses or anything like that. You are prefects, and you should act like it." She gave a stern look around the room and the other students nodded in acknowledgement. "Remus, do you have anything to add?"

He nodded and cleared his throat, pulling out the notes that Dumbledore had sent him with his Hogwarts letter. "For those of you who were prefects last year, you'll remember that there is a second year named Amelia Bones who has a severe peanut allergy, so if you see her acting like she is having any trouble breathing, just perform an _epinephrasia_ charm and she should clear right up. Also there is a first year named Nymphadora Tonks who is an animorphmagus, and for those of you who are unfamiliar with that term, it means she can change her appearance at will. She can't be registered until she is of age, so she has a trace placed on her similar to the underage magic trace that will alert the faculty if she is using her powers outside of transfiguration classes and special lessons, which is against the rules. Any questions?"

The prefects shook their heads, so Remus dismissed them and headed back for his compartment. As he passed the spot where he had run into the brown-haired girl earlier, he remembered that she had said her name was Tonks, which would make her the new first year he had alerted the prefects about.

Just then, feet from his compartment door, he ran into someone else. She tumbled to the ground like Tonks had, and Remus turned to apologize, making a mental note that he really should be watching where he was going. He was about to help her up when he got a good look at her and froze. She had thick blonde hair that tumbled to half-way down her back in waves, a perfectly angelic face, and in Remus's opinion, a rather lovely figure.

"Are you alright?" she asked from her spot on the floor, concerned.

Remus shook his head vacantly. Then he remembered his manners. "Oh, of course. I should be asking you that." He reached down and pulled her to her feet, meeting her dark brown eyes. He felt himself blush, which was something he never did. _What the heck is the matter with me?_ he wondered. _Control, man!_

"I'm Lila Smith," she said with a bright smile.

"Remus Lupin," he replied.

"It was nice to meet you, Remus."

"You too." He felt like swatting himself for coming up with such a lame reply, but it was too late to come up with something better because she had already turned away and headed down the hall with a quick glance over her shoulder. Remus realized, to his horror, that he had been studying the way her skirt swished against her legs like he was James or Sirius or someone entirely _not_ himself.

"Huh," he said to himself, trying to rub the redness out of his neck. He turned and opened the compartment door beside him, walking in on a ferocious game of wizarding chess, where it looks like Sirius had put a leg-locking curse on all of James's white chess men so that they stood helplessly while the little black men ran all over the board, beating them to the ground.

They turned and watched him walk in to the compartment. James forgot about his chess men and gave Remus a look of concern. "Did you make a fool out of yourself at the meeting?"

They noticed that Remus kept glancing out the door of the compartment, back the way he came. "No, why do you ask that?" he said vaguely.

"Your face is redder than the train we're riding, mate."

Remus looked at him for a second and shrugged. "How's the chess game going?"

They three boys decided to brush off their friend's strange entrance. After all, Remus had a lot of responsibility to deal with this year, and maybe he had finally just cracked.

**A/N: First chapter. What do you think?**


	2. Second Meetings

**A/N: Back with more! Hope you like it... this is a really long chapter for me, but I like it. I hope this isn't going to slow for you guys... you'd let me know, right?**

**Second Meetings**

The first day of classes breezed by for Remus, and before he knew it his classes were over and he was sitting down to supper with James, Peter, and Sirius.

"I knew we'd be getting more homework in our NEWT year, but this is just ridiculous," Sirius muttered.

"You're telling me," Remus said, dropping his fork wearily. "And I have two more classes than you guys."

Peter didn't add much to the conversation because his mouth was too full of potatoes.

Sirius glanced down the table, scoping out a possible Hogsmeade date from the seventh year girls that were sitting together at the end. He noticed that Lily kept sneaking glances at James, who was so preoccupied with his treacle pudding that he hadn't noticed. Sirius elbowed him and jerked his head inconspicuously towards the end of the table.

James, mouth full of pudding, looked up at him curiously and then followed his gaze to the end of the table to meet Lily's eye. He gave her a smile, his cheeks bulging like a chipmunk's with pudding, which made Lily giggle furiously before turning back to her female classmates.

James spit his pudding back into his bowl as soon as she wasn't looking.

"That is disgusting, Prongs," Sirius groaned, staring at his own pudding with a new-found distaste.

"I can't help it. She made my throat feel funny and I couldn't swallow."

"Godric Gryffindor, I hope I never fall in love."

"I'm not in love," James said. "I don't think, anyway. But if I am, I suppose it's not so bad."

They all sat and chewed in silence for a bit, and Remus's thoughts were suddenly brought back to the blonde girl on the train. He gave a sweeping glance around the hall but didn't see her at any of the tables. He thought about asking the guys if they had ever heard of a girl named Lila Smith, but the thought of the ridicule he would get for asking about a girl sewed his lips shut.

A few minutes before the end of supper, McGonagall came bustling towards them, tugging Lily behind her, and pulled Remus aside. She seemed to be rather flustered, so Remus and Lily listened raptly.

"Is there any way that the two of you could oversee detention tonight? The students will be doing lines, but I can't be there to supervise. You are both welcome to bring homework to work on, if you wish."

"Of course," Lily replied, and Remus nodded as well.

"Great, thank you."

Sirius, James and Peter had been eavesdropping, and as soon as McGonagall had turned to address Lily about the prefect meeting on the train, James began to question Remus.

"Who could possibly have detention already? It's the first day!"

Sirius and Peter exchanged sheepish looks. "Eliza Allen told on Sirius about the skirt blowing up thing," Peter said, "And I tried to take the blame for it but she couldn't decide whether I was telling the truth or not so she gave us both detention, just to be safe."

Remus rolled his eyes, but James's jaw dropped in outrage. "So Remus is going to be overseeing the two of you in detention with the girl of my dreams, and what am I supposed to do? Stay home and knit?"

Remus gave a disapproving frown. "It's supposed to be punishment, James, not a party. Besides, you have a lot of homework to be getting to tonight while we're gone."

"No way!" James pouted for a moment before a light went on in his head. He turned to Sirius. "Sorry, Padfoot," he said quickly, and before Sirius could look confused, James punched him, knocking him to the ground.

"What in the bloody—?!" Sirius clutched his face for the second time in two days.

McGonagall spluttered in shock. "Mr. Potter! This is outrageous behavior! Apologize to Mr. Black."

"Sorry, Sirius," James said, looking honestly apologetic to Sirius, who looked murderous.

McGonagall pursed her lips into a dangerously tight frown. "Detention, tonight!"

"Excellent!" James shouted, punching his fist in the air.

McGonagall shook her head and swept back up the hall to the staff table, looking completely bewildered.

"Happy, Prongs?" Sirius glared.

"Very. I'll sneak out after and buy you a sugar quill in Hogsmeade tonight."

Sirius's mood brightened considerably after that.

The boys headed to the empty classroom where detention was being held that night, shortly before eight. Three other students were already seated, Lily Evans, a third year Slytherin boy, and—

"Tonks!" Remus said in surprise. "What are you in for?"

She turned pink at being directly addressed by the older boy. "I practiced my metamorphosing outside of lessons, so my trace went off."

He nodded in comprehension, remembering that she was forbidden to use her powers outside of class.

"Alright, everyone," Remus said, ignoring James, Sirius, and Peter, who had snapped to attention and were saluting him. "Your assignment tonight is to fill two rolls of parchment each with the following lines." He turned to Lily. "Did McGonagall give you the list?"

Lily nodded. "Thomas O'Flaherty," she said, addressing the sour-faced Slytherin, "Please write 'I must not mouth off to prefects whether they are in my house or not.' Nymphadora Tonks" –Tonks slapped her hand over her forehead at the use of her first name—"please write 'I must not practice metamorphosing outside of the specified times.' James Potter, please write 'I must not punch anyone just to get detention with Lily, even if it is Sirius.'" Lily blushed a little pink, but continued on bravely through the marauder's snickers. "Peter Pettigrew, please write 'I will not lie to teachers to save my friends from punishment.' And Sirius Black, please write 'I will try not to be a horn-dog sleaze and treat girls like pieces of meat.'"

Sirius's jaw dropped. "It does _not_ say that!"

Lily smirked. "Actually, McGonagall wrote 'I will refrain from letting my hormones control me,' but I like my version better."

"I didn't even do it!" He glared daggers at Peter, who cowered in his chair.

"Just the same, you will write it."

Sirius looked pleadingly at Remus, expecting a little relief from his friend. Remus sighed. "Fine, you must do the lines, but you can do McGonagall's version if you'd like."

Sirius grunted and pulled out his parchment and a quill, beginning to write with the others.

Remus and Lily settled into chairs at the teacher's desk at the front of the room and proceeded to cover it with a stack of textbooks. From the looks of it, Lily was taking as many classes as Remus. Once everyone was writing, she muttered quietly to Remus.

"I was surprised that you didn't try to let your friends off the hook."

"Of course not. Although honestly, Peter did blow the girl's skirt upwards, so technically Sirius shouldn't be here."

Lily looked at him skeptically. "Really? Sirius seems more the type."

Remus shrugged. "It's mostly a front with Sirius. You shouldn't be so hard on him."

Lily raised her eyebrows. "Well, those boys seem to bring out your irresponsible side."

Remus frowned at her. "Hardly." He didn't particularly want to make a wall of tension between himself and the new head girl, but he didn't like the way she judged his friends. "Maybe you should give Sirius, and me, and even James for that matter, a chance before you decide what we're like."

"I never even mentioned James," she said loftily.

"You didn't need to. You've never treated him very well, and can't you tell he just wants your approval?"

"I can't see why he would care."

"Can't you? I should think it was quite obvious.'

Throughout their very quiet mutterings, their banter had drawn the attention of both Tonks and James, who were avidly watching. When Lily and Remus realized this at the same time and looked up, both James and Tonks hurriedly began writing their lines and pretending they hadn't been staring front pair, enviously wishing they could be part of the whispered conversation.

After a moment of silence apart from the scratching of quills, Lily elbowed Remus and whispered in his ear. "It looks like somebody has a bit of a crush on you." She glanced at Tonks.

Remus raised his eyebrows. "I could say the same back." She didn't have to ask who he meant, and she went huffily back to her work.

After detention the marauders took their sweet time getting back to the common rooms, detouring past the kitchens to stop for a late snack. James took their map and his own invisibility cloak and snuck to Hogsmeade to get the promised sugar quill, and Peter, Sirius, and Remus headed back to the dorms alone.

Remus's mood brightened considerably when they turned a corner and met a certain blonde he had been surreptitiously hunting for all day. "Alright, Smith?" he asked, once again reminding himself forcefully of James talking to Lily.

She saw him and smiled. "Really, Remus, call me Lila."

Sirius's eyebrows shot far above his hairline as he gave this new girl the once-over. He elbowed Remus. "Have you forgotten your manners, Remus?"

"Oh, sorry. Guys, this is Lila Smith, Lila, These are my best mates Peter and—"

"Sirius," she interrupted. "Yes, I know. We do go to the same school."

Remus furrowed his brow. "I'm sorry, I hadn't met you before so I assumed you had transferred in or something."

"No," she smiled sweetly. "I've just kept a low profile."

"How did you two meet, anyway?" Peter asked.

"Oh, I ran into him on the train," she laughed. "Quite literally."

Remus blushed. Sirius could never remember seeing him do that except…

"So that's why you were bumbling over yourself when you came back in the compartment on the train."

"Thanks, Sirius," Remus glared. He didn't want to meet Lila's eye after that. "So we should probably be going, it is after hours and all."

"Right," Peter said. He turned to Lila. "What are you doing out so late, anyway?"

She frowned at him. "Oh, just walking around. You know, fresh air and all."

Peter exchanged glances with Sirius and shrugged.

"Good to run into you again, Lila," Remus said politely.

She met his gaze very pointedly and held it. "Yes, perhaps our next rendezvous should be intentional," she smiled sweetly again, and Remus became so flustered that he completely lost the ability to speak.

Sirius looked at his petrified friend in alarm and began to guide him down the hallway, shouting over his shoulder. "Very nice to meet you, Lila! Come on, Peter, you lug." Peter scampered after and began to help push Remus towards the Gryffindor common room.

When they were safely through the portrait hole, they found James already lying in his bed, a new sugar quill lying wrapped on Sirius's bedside table.

"What took you three so long? And what in Merlin's name is the matter with Remus?"

"We ran into his girlfriend," Sirius sniggered.

James sat up quickly. "I'm listening."

"She's not my girlfriend, she's just some girl I met on the train that we happened to run into again," Remus said wearily.

"Oh, you can speak now, can you?" Sirius drawled sardonically.

Remus shook his head. "I don't know what happened. I was doing ok for awhile, and she said that thing… and I forgot how to talk."

"What thing did she say?" James asked curiously.

"Yes, what does rendezvous mean?" Peter asked.

James grinned wickedly. "Rendezvous?" he asked. "You mean a _date_?"

Remus nodded. "The strange thing is, she's beautiful, and she wanted a date with _me_."

"That's not so strange."

Peter shook his head at James. "But Sirius was standing right there. _Sirius_. He's much better looking."

Remus glared daggers at Peter.

Sirius shook his head as though trying to work something out. "She was a bit strange. What was that bit about being out after hours for fresh air? And why haven't I seen her before? She is quite pretty; I think I would remember her."

"People can change a lot over the summer," Remus said pointedly, "So it is possible that she just looks a lot different. And she said she had kelp a low profile. And besides, we wander around all the time at night for fun." He stopped for a breath. "There is nothing strange about her, you all just can't believe she'd pick me over Sirius," he finished bitterly.

"That's not true," James said. "We're sorry, Remus, we didn't mean to make it sound that way."

"We're happy for you, really," Peter added.

Sirius nodded. "We are probably just jealous, because at this rate, it looks like you are the only one of us who is going to have a Hogsmeade date this quarter."

**A/N: Please let me know what you guys are thinking. :)**


	3. Welcome to the Real World

**A/N: Been a bit of a stretch between updates, but here I am again! **

**Welcome to the Real World**

"Alright, Moony, what's the plan?"

"I'm going to walk up to her, say 'Lila, would you mind joining my friends and I for breakfast?' and then she will say yes, and then I will bring her to our table and we will sit down," Remus rehearsed.

"Right," Sirius said. "And…?"

Remus sighed. "And I will bring over any attractive friends she might have so you can date them."

Sirius turned to James with a grin. "I think he's got it!"

"See if she has any friends that look like they want to date me," Peter added.

"Guys, I'll be lucky to get myself a date, much less dates for everyone else in the school."

"We're you're friends, not just anyone else in the school," Sirius pouted.

Remus rolled his eyes. "I'll do my best."

The four friends entered the great hall. Three of them looked rather excited, but Remus looked like he was about to face a firing squad. They all glanced around the great hall.

"Is that her over there?" Peter asked, pointing towards a blonde girl sitting at the Hufflepuff table.

"No, Lila's hair is longer than that."

"Are you sure? It kind of looks like her."

"Pretty sure," Remus said, although from that distance it was hard to tell. "Well, I'll go see."

He walked towards the Hufflepuff table nervously and tapped the blonde girl on the shoulder. She turned. She did look a lot like Lila, but Lila was a lot prettier in Remus's opinion. Also, this girl had blue eyes, while Remus distinctly remembered Lila having brown. "Sorry," Remus said quickly. "I thought you were someone else."

The girls at the table giggled as Remus walked away, shaking his head at his friends. "I don't think she came to breakfast today. I don't see her anywhere."

"Aw, better luck next time. Eat some porridge," James shoved the bowl towards Remus.

"Looks like Remus is getting all the female attention this year," Sirius said.

"What do you mean?"

"That little first or second year with the purple hair keeps looking at you, and she turned red as a tomato when you went up to that other girl," Sirius laughed, pointing to the table across from them.

Remus turned to look. "Oh, that's Tonks," he said. "She shouldn't have purple hair; she's going to end up with detention again."

"Ooh, someone's robbing the cradle!" Sirius hooted.

"I am not!" Remus snapped. "I'm just watching out for her."

"She is pretty tall for a second year. Maybe people with think she's older and not accuse you of being a pedophile."

"Shut _up_, Sirius!"

"Leave him alone, Sirius," James said boredly.

"Besides, Remus has Lila," Peter added matter-of-factly.

"I do not _have _Lila!" Remus shouted in exasperation. "Just because she showed a little interest does not mean she has plans for dating me!"

"I wouldn't be so sure, because she's walking this way," Sirius muttered, suddenly lowering his voice.

The other boys looked up and saw that the blonde girl had gotten up from the Hufflepuff table and was walking towards them.

"I though that wasn't her because Lila was prettier," Peter whispered, but James elbowed him to silence.

Lila stopped in front of them and looked at Remus. "I can _hear_ you boys talking about me."

"Sorry, Lila," Remus said, blushing uncontrollably. He glanced at the other boys, who nodded encouragingly. He turned back to the girl. "I was hoping that you…" he took a deep breath. "Maybe wanted to go to Hogsmeade with me?"

Lila smiled and giggled. "I was hoping that's what this was about. I would love to!"

"I'll see you next Saturday then," he said, sighing with relief.

She nodded and bounced back to her table. The boys stared after her.

"She's not half as pretty in the morning as she is later in the day," Peter said bluntly.

Remus frowned at him. "That is very rude, Peter."

"Yeah, some people just aren't morning people," James agreed.

"No, Peter is right," Sirius said. "You haven't seen her later in the day, James. She's very pretty."

"Well, I look forward to it."

"Some people don't," Sirius said, pointing over where Tonks had been sitting. Her plate sat, abandoned and half-eaten.

"I saw her get up and run out when you asked Lila out," Peter said. "She looked pretty upset."

"Well, I feel terrible," Remus said, "But she can't expect me to like her back. I'm much too old for her!"

"No one's blaming you," James said.

"Well, I'm not too happy with you, either," Sirius said, pouting once again. "You forgot to get us dates, too. You can't keep all the girls to yourself!"

The others boys laughed.

"Another, very important matter," Peter said. "This first part of the year has been a terrible bore for me. When are we going to have some fun?"

"Remus is going to have his fun next weekend. Eh, Moony boy?" Sirius elbowed him and winked. Remus almost shoved him off the bench.

"It can't be anything too crazy," James said. "I really don't want to screw things up with Lily."

Sirius looked at him thoughtfully. "Would a giant slip 'n' slide down the main stairway be considered too crazy?"

"A bit," James said, rolling his eyes heavenward.

"I don't see how we're supposed to have any fun this year, between you and the pompous head boy over here," Sirius grunted.

"I am not pompous."

James raised his eyebrows at Sirius. "Sirius, your idea of fun is to start an illegal dog-fighting circuit in the dungeons."

"Yeah, and my dog Snuffles won every match," Sirius grinned.

"And what about that time that 'fun' was to tell Snivellus how to get past the Whomping Willow?"

"Hey, not all my ideas are bad."

"Sure, for you, a giant slip 'n' slide sounds positively tame."

"Shhh, McGonagall is coming this way!"

The professor came up to them and addressed Remus once again. "Remus, I was hoping you'd oversee detention tonight again. And ask Miss Evans to join you." Before Remus could even nod, she had bustled back up to the staff table and begun a hushed conversation with Professor Slughorn.

Sirius looked puzzled. "I wonder why McGonagall doesn't have time to oversee detention anymore. She used to love punishing students."

"She sure has seemed distracted lately," Remus agreed.

James glanced around cautiously before lowering his voice and leaning in towards the other boys. "I know what's going on, and I trust you guys, but you need to swear not to talk about it around other people, okay?"

They all nodded, giving him their full attention.

"McGonagall and my parents are in this group that Professor Dumbledore started. It's called—" he glanced around and lowered his voice even further. "It's called the Order of the Phoenix. It's a secret society that has been working to stop Voldemort ever since he started rising. I'm going to be in as soon as I'm out of school."

"Fighting Voldemort? I'm in!"

"Shhhh, Sirius! This is real stuff! It could cost my parents their jobs in the ministry, or even make my family targets! You need to promise never to speak of it if you aren't positive you are alone."

They all nodded again.

"We can join too, right?" Sirius whispered.

James looked hesitant. "Well, Remus being a werewolf could cause a problem, honestly. And Sirius, your family does make you seem a little suspicious. But I trust you both, my family trusts you, and I am pretty sure Dumbledore believes in both of you. So yeah, probably when we come of age, we can all join."

"Excellent," Peter said.

They all sat back and glanced around, feeling much more important than they had two minutes ago.

"So, what class do we have first?" Peter asked.

Remus checked his schedule. "Double Transfiguration with Ravenclaw."

"Oh, good, I've never had a class with them before," James grinned.

"They're just going to make us look dumb," Peter said.

"Just because they're in Ravenclaw and we're not doesn't automatically make them more brilliant than us."

"Yeah," Sirius agreed. "Like being a Gryffindor doesn't automatically mean you aren't a pansy, Peter."

**A/N: Review please. If you have nothing to say, I will once again give you a template to follow. Just copy and paste the following:**

**"I, fabulous reader and reviewer, would like to congratulate you on a chapter well done. (insert constructive criticism here). Since I like this story so much, I am going to go read your other stories right away! Please update soon, as my happiness is dependant on having a new chapter!"**


	4. Detention Intentions

**A/N: Well, that was a ridiculously long wait, and I apologize. Here is chapter four!**

**Detention Intentions**

Remus was all nerves as he walked into the Transfiguration classroom later that morning. He was about to have his first class of the year, which was stressful enough without the possibility of sharing the class with the Ravenclaws (or more specifically, a Miss Lila Smith).

"Where's Lily?" James muttered to his friends as they chose seats near the middle of the room.

The other boys glanced around and saw no hint of the red-head among the bustling students. "Perhaps she's not in NEWT transfiguration," Remus suggested. "She's studying to be a healer, so she's probably more focused on Potions and Charms."

James's face fell. "Maybe I should study to be a healer. Then we would be in the same courses."

Sirius snorted. "Don't be stupid. You've wanted to be an auror since you were twelve."

"Well, I've wanted to marry Lily since I was eleven-and-a-half."

"Well, don't be stupid," Sirius said again.

James dropped the subject when Professor McGonagall entered the classroom and immediately jumped into a discussion on how their NEWT year was the most important of their school careers. After about ten minutes of that, even the professor's urgent tone could not keep the marauders interested enough, and all but Remus began doodling on the corners of their parchment. Remus had broken out of his polite but glazed-over stare at McGonagall and had begun to search around the large lecture hall for Lila.

He spotted her in the back corner, gossiping and giggling with the girl next to her. It was difficult for him to admit, but he felt as though he had been tricked somehow. Upon their first couple of meetings, she had seemed mysterious and witty – not at all the type of girl who would sit in the back and giggle with her friend during a lesson. Perhaps the lighting was different today, but her glistening blonde hair glistened slightly less, and he could have sworn that her eyes were brown the first two times. He leaned in her direction ever so slightly and squinted to see what color they were today.

Blue again. He must have been mistaken when they first met.

_Don't be silly,_ he thought to himself. _They were always blue. Unless there are two Lila Smiths running around this school._ _Unlikely. Impossible._

Lila glanced up to see him staring at her. He felt his face burn and turned around quickly, trying to remember where they were in the lesson. He could hear the two girls in the back giggling.

"Kill me," he muttered under his breath.

James raised his eyebrows as he scribbled pictures over his notes. "It's just NEWTs, Remus. You'll do fine."

McGonagall narrowed her eyes at the two whisperers. "Mr. Potter, do you have something to add?"

James glanced up from his doodling, thinking fast. "I was just commenting how black robes make your skin tone appear very fair, professor, and Remus was agreeing."

"Oh?"

"Yes, but I apologize. I should have restrained myself until you were done teaching. That was very wrong of me." He gave her his most sincere smile.

McGonagall paused, not buying James's nonsense. "Charming, Mr. Potter, but I hope you'll forgive me for adding another five inches onto your homework essay. I need to make sure that my wardrobe is not distracting you from the theory of cross-species switching spells," she said dryly.

"Right," he mumbled, going back to his drawing.

-ii-ii-ii-ii-ii-ii-ii

"McGonagall was in some nasty mood today," Remus remarked to Lily as they sat down at the front of the classroom that was used for detention. Indeed, the number of students in detention was somewhat engorged from the day before.

"What did Potter do to end up in here?" Lily said with a false air of disinterest.

"Don't start in on him again."

"I was simply asking."

Remus sighed, wondering how James would feel if he knew that Remus had tattled to Lily. "Oh, he flirted with Professor McGonagall and then asked the Muggle Studies teacher where muggle babies come from because the father doesn't have a wand."

"How mature of him."

"I told you not to start in on him again."

Lily fell silent and opened her Charms book to do some reading for class. Remus sighed and pulled his own book out as well, but was distracted by a flash of bright pink in the back of the room. Upon identifying the flash as Tonks's hair, he shook his head, got up and walked over to her.

As he approached, she deliberately pretended she didn't see him, hoping he'd walk past her and away. She began to write increasingly faster and had scribbled right off the page before he cleared his throat. Her quill snapped in half.

"Saggy pants o' Merlin!" she muttered.

"Tonks," he whispered. "What are you doing? You know you can't metamorphose before you're of age. You already landed yourself in detention twice, and it's only the second day!"

She shrugged, trying not to meet his eyes. "I got detention for the purple this morning. But the pink is muggle dye. I did it at lunch so I won't have to get in trouble for it anymore."

"Why don't you just leave it the color it is?"

"I shouldn't have to. Don't tell me you wouldn't change your hair and your face if you could." She finally looked up, challengingly, as though daring him to contradict her.

Remus almost said something stoic about how a person should be happy with who they are, but he stopped himself, running a pale hand through his sandy hair. It _would_ be nice if he could hide the few premature gray strands that were already tormenting his seventeen-year-old head. Not to mention looking like the boy he was and slightly less like the aged man that hid under his features. "I suppose," he finally settled. "But try to stay out of trouble from now on."

Tonks nodded and dropped her gaze back to her lines on the messy parchment. Remus turned to walk back up front when he heard her mutter, "But I don't mind detention so much."

Remus met James's eyes on they way back to the front, and he knew James had heard her last comment from the goading look on his face.

"Somebody's in loooove!" James taunted as they walked back to the Gryffindor common room together.

"I'm not in love with anybody," growled Remus. "Maybe Lily _was_ right about your maturity level.

"I didn't say you were in love. I meant that Nyrandasanophora Tonks girl."

"Nymphadora."

"Whatever. It's a no wonder she doesn't mind detention. She can stare at you the whole time!"

"Don't be so hard on her. Little girls get crushes on you and Sirius all the time. She'll get over it."

"Yes, besides, that's illegal." James ignored Remus's look of shock and continued. "Still, if you're in love with anybody, it's Lila. I can't believe you got a Hogsmeade date so quickly!"

Remus frowned. "I'm a bit surprised myself. But I suppose it's because she has a bit of an uneven character."

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well, she's bold and flirtatious, and then she's all shy and giggly, and at first she's deep and witty, and then she acts silly. So I'll bet that saying yes to me was a spontaneous thing, and she'll change her mind by tomorrow morning."

"Don't be so hard on yourself, Moony," James said, giving him a shove on the back. "Just revel in your good fortune of having a pretty girl who is interested."

Remus sighed. Perhaps James was right, and he was just thinking of ways to be unhappy because that was how he was used to being. Still, his dreams that night were haunted slightly by the impending Hogsmeade trip with a girl he could hardly manage to say two words around.

**A/N: Do me a favor and let me know where you think this is going, how you think this is going, and where you would like it to go, etc. Feedback is much appreciated, and I do take my reviews into factor. For instance, .xPaolax. commented on how it was sad to have a Tonks with boring hair... and voila! Hair dye. See how that works? Also, virtual hugs from an attractive werewolf in need of cheering up to all reviewers!**


	5. A Date and a Half

**A/N: Thought that since my computer is no longer seconds from dying, I would come back and edit.**

**A Date and a Half**

Hogsmeade day dawned crisp and beautiful. The sun was shining brightly as though clinging to the memory of summer, while a cool, autumn-scented breeze hinted that fall was on its way. Remus was up early, and his friends awoke to his distressed grunts as he dug through his trunk.

"Whassa matter?" James mumbled, sitting up in bed and reaching for his glasses on the nightstand. He and Sirius both peered sleepily out at Remus, who was tearing through his belongings hastily.

"I can't decide if I should wear my robes or a sweater and jeans," Remus said, holding up a rumpled red sweater. "What do you think?"

"Jeans," Sirius said. "But borrow one of my button-down shirts. It's nicer for a date."

"Do you suppose?"

James sighed. "You'll be fine, Remus. Besides, there are still a couple hours before anyone will be going out. Calm down."

Remus glared. "You can be calm. You both haven't got dates."

James shot a steely look while Sirius preened. "Actually, Eliza Allen agreed to go with me."

The other boys looked at Sirius in surprise. "I thought she was mad about you blowing her skirt up," James frowned.

Sirius shrugged. "Apparently Lily Evans heard Eliza fussing about it in the girl's loo and told her that it was Peter who had done that to her skirt. Once she found out I had been telling the truth, she fell into my arms quite neatly."

James exchanged incredulous looks with Peter. "How did Lily find out? And why would she stand up for Sirius?"

Remus grinned slightly. "I told her about it in detention and asked her to lay off you guys. I didn't think she actually would, but I reckon I was wrong."

James stood up very quickly and gave a little bounce on his bed. "So Lily listens to you? Do you think you could get her to…?" He gave Remus a hopeful look, like a puppy begging for a scrap of food.

"I don't know about that. I guess I could try."

"Moony my man… I love you." With that, James hopped off his bed, grabbed a wadded up pair of Jeans, and headed to the shower.

A couple hours later, Remus stood anxiously at the entrance to the great hall, rocking back and forth with his hands in his pockets. He was a little uncomfortable. Sirius's blue shirt was a bit large on him, and was self-consciously aware that his jeans were getting too short. He wished he could afford a new pair. _Perhaps my parents could send some for Christmas_. He was startled out of his thoughts when he saw Lila striding towards him with a pair of her friends, whispering to each other.

_Why must girls always travel together, and why must they whisper and giggle like that? _Remus thought to himself. _I hope they aren't talking about my jeans… I should have borrowed a pair of James's…_

He saw Lila shoo her friends away, and she walked the last couple of yards up to him by herself. "Hi, Remus," she giggled.

He opened his mouth to say something and found his voice blocked, so he had to clear his throat several times before managing out sputter out a "hullo."

Lila giggled again. Remus found it a touch irksome.

"Where would you like to go today?" he asked, having found his voice.

"Oh, I don't care really," she said, twirling a strand of yellow hair around her pinky finger. "I need to stop by Gladrags, though. Maybe after that we can get some tea."

"Alright," he said. He stood awkwardly, wondering what he was supposed to do now. He offered her his arm to escort her out the door, and she laughed quite openly.

"Oh, Remus, don't be so old fashioned!" She pushed his elbow down and grabbed his hand, leading him out the door. Remus flushed with embarrassment behind her. He really should have consulted more with his friends before leaving for this date so unprepared.

They strolled down the lane to Hogsmeade, Remus making uncomfortable small talk and Lila giving long, bubbly answers about everything from quidditch to the weather. Remus was fairly relieved that she was such an easy talker, but he remembered her being much more interesting when they first met. He breathed a sigh as the walked into Gladrags Wizard Wear, because the portly sales witch was much better at occupying Lila's attention than Remus was.

"What exactly are you looking for, dear?" the squat woman purred.

"Oh, a scarf. It's getting chilly and I haven't got anything decent to wear with my new jacket. I was thinking…" she and the sales witch disappeared into the back of the store, gabbing excitedly. Remus glanced around and saw two gentlemen, one middle-aged and one rather elderly, sitting in chairs beside the door. Based on their equally bored expressions, these seats must have been especially reserved for the husbands and boyfriends that were dragged into shopping by their women. Remus sighed and took a seat beside them.

The elderly man looked rather surprised to see him. "You're much too young to be clothes shopping with a witch. Hogwarts?"

Remus nodded. "It's our first date."

The men looked at him with new found respect. "Good sport." Remus and the two men, who introduced themselves as Roger and Bernie, soon found themselves absorbed in a discussion about the broomstick regulations that had recently come out and how it would affect their favorite quidditch teams.

It was nearly twenty minutes later when Lila finally arrived from the back room, her arms full of scarves.

"What do you think, Remus. I can't decide." She began pulling them out of the pile, one-by-one, and waving them around or wrapping them around her neck. She was half way through the pile before he realized that she was probably waiting for him to choose one.

"Er… how about the yellow one… because you're in Hufflepuff?"

"But I look dreadful in yellow. Weren't you looking when I tried it on?"

"Well, why did you bring it out if you didn't like it?" Remus noticed Roger slightly jerk his head, as though signaling him to stop. "I… I mean… of course I was looking. And I think the yellow…. er… was pretty."

Lila seemed to be satisfied with that answer. She glowed. "Remus, you are a dear. Now buy me this scarf and let's go to Puddifoot's." She handed him the scarf and took the others to the back while Remus exchanged weary looks with the guys.

"Very good sport.," Bernie said, and Roger nodded.

But as Lila dragged Remus on towards the tea shop, he couldn't help but think that he would have chosen a less expensive scarf if he'd known he would be paying for it. He was anxiously aware that he would have nothing left in his wallet after tea, which meant he would definitely be borrowing clothes for his next date.

Remus and Lila ran into her friends on their way out of Madam Puddifoot's, which was an unnecessarily painful experience for Remus, who had never been exposed to more pink, sugar, and estrogen in his life. Lila decided to head off with her friends, and Remus couldn't help but feel relieved.

He made a beeline for the Three Broomsticks, where he found James and Peter sitting in a booth and comparing Zonko's purchases.

James grinned when Remus slipped into a seat. "How was the date?"

"Could have gone better," Remus grunted.

"What happened?"

"She got a bit irritated, I think, because I didn't hold her hand at the tea shop, and I picked an ugly scarf, and then I didn't kiss her goodbye in front of her friends and I think she wanted me to."

"Well if she wanted you to kiss her, it can't have gone as badly as you think." James motioned to the barmaid to come over to their table. "I think this gentleman could use a butterbeer," he said, patting Remus on the shoulder.

Remus shook his head. "Naw, I spent all my money at the stupid tea store."

"Don't worry mate, I'll spot you a couple sickles."'

"Thanks." Under normal circumstances Remus would have refused, but he was feeling desperate for a pick-me-up and accepted the bottle rather sheepishly. Peter also pulled out a new box of Honeyduke's chocolate frogs, which the boys shared amiably until it was almost empty.

_Perhaps dating and I weren't meant to be_, Remus thought. It was much more fun to talk quidditch with James, or even Bernie and Roger, than to sip tea while Lila made little comments on her new scarf or the jasmine potpourri on the table.

When the guys walked back into the castle, they met Sirius. From the slight rumpledness of his hair and outfit, Remus guessed that his date with Eliza Allen had gone very well compared to Remus's with Lila.

Sirius launched into a story about how he and his date had decided to skip Hogsmeade altogether and have a picnic on the roof of the astronomy tower. "She was very apologetic about putting me in detention for the skirt issue," he grinned. "She's quite good at apologizing."

The other boys rolled their eyes while Sirius gave them a self-satisfied smirk.

"Oh, lay off me, we just kissed a little."

"Sure."

As they rounded the corner of the corridor, they ran into Lila. At first Remus was apprehensive, hoping that she wouldn't ask to spend more time with him after their already insufferable date. But then he did a double-take. She was much prettier that he remembered her being earlier that day. It was still definitely Lila, but she had a confident, yet coy smile and was definitely _not_ giggling anymore.

"Hullo James, Peter, Sirius," she said. "Remus," she held his gaze for a moment and he found himself inexplicably captivated. "Would you mind joining me for a stroll?"

Once again, he found that he had to clear his throat to get words out. "We just got back from Hogsmeade," he pointed out.

For a moment, Lila looked thrown off guard, but she caught herself. "Right, and that was lovely, but I didn't feel like we really got to talk. You know, about anything important. I really wasn't myself."

Remus was hesitant, but then again, he thought she was right. While earlier, he felt as though he couldn't get away from her fast enough, now all he wanted to do was take her somewhere quiet and spill his deepest secrets. She must not have been herself earlier. "Sure," he said. "I'd like that."

James looked alarmed. "Remus, you can't go now. We have… Gobstones Club."

Remus new that his friend was trying to save him. James was still under the impression that Remus had a horrible time at Hogsmeade and didn't want anything to do with this girl. But couldn't James see that it was different now? "Not now, James. I'm going for a walk with Lila."

With that he and Lila headed down the corridor and back towards the front door of the castle, leaving his friends gobsmacked in his wake.

Once they reached the ground, they walked in easy silence around the lake until Remus asked how her classes were going.

"Lovely," she said. "I have been having a great time in my Ancient Runes class. Did you know that in ancient cultures, wizard kings tried to enslave centaurs for fortune tellers? Then they released them because the centaurs would only tell them vague and general prophesies, not the details they wanted about their lives."

"I never knew that," Remus said with a smile. It wasn't often when someone told him something he didn't already know. "I wouldn't like to know the future if I could. I like things slightly more unpredictable."

"Really? You strike me as the type who prefers routine."

"I do. But I mean more big things, like when I was going to die, or who I was going to fall in love with."

"But if you knew who you were going to fall in love with, you could just skip over all the hunting and meet them sooner. If you want to spend every moment of forever with someone, wouldn't you rather forever started sooner as opposed to later?"

Remus smiled and responded, surprised at how she had gone from superficial and giggly to deep and philosophical in less than twenty-four hours. He turned and watched her talk, feeling very peculiar in his midsection. Suddenly, as she turned and smiled at him, he realized what was so very out of place.

Her eyes were brown.

**A/N: Dun dun dun... review por favor.**


	6. Out of Character

**A/N: There has been some speculation that I was never coming back. This is a lie. I'm kind of like Voldemort that way... no one thought he was coming back either. Now, libraryloser has returned, and she is on break! That means that not only do I have time to write, but I have it in spades! I'm really sorry that it took so long, and I pinky promise it won't happen again. That reminds me... go back and at least read the last chapter... this one will make a lot more sense!**

**Out of Character**

Remus felt almost triumphant. _I'm not crazy. They really did change color_. "Did you get contacts? I could swear your eyes were blue earlier today."

Lila's eyes went wide, almost startled. "Oh!" She turned away, as though she were searching the forest urgently for something. "No… I don't think so. They are always blue… it must just be the light of the forest that's making them appear brown." She looked back at him innocently. They were blue.

"Oh… yes, I see… they are blue again," Remus stuttered. _So much for not being crazy._ "I could have sworn that just now… never mind."

Lila laughed, a light laugh that jingled like a breeze through wind chimes. "Remus, sometimes you say the most peculiar things." She turned and began walking down the path again.

Remus sighed in frustration before starting after her. _Perhaps this is love…you wake up and can't tell one color from another and realize you've lost your mind._ Of course, Remus couldn't ever remember James mixing up his colors… but James claimed that he wasn't really in love.

Ahead of him, Lila tripped over a root and went tumbling to the ground. Remus ran ahead to help her up and heard her cursing everything from Merlin to McGonagall.

"Are you all right?" he asked, chivalrously offering her his hand. She took it and hoisted herself up, scowling darkly.

"Oh, I'm positively spiffing," she muttered.

Remus wondered at her sudden loss of countenance. "It's alright," he said. "I was starting to wonder if you were human. Thank you for easing my curiosity."

Her frown softened. "What do you mean?"

"Magic color changing eyes, inhuman beauty, superior grace…"

She laughed out loud. "I can honestly tell you that that is the first time anyone has ever called me graceful."

Remus was at a loss for a reply, already feeling that he had been too bold in his compliments for one night. He didn't know what it was about her that locked away his inhibitions, but it was definitely something he would have to talk to James about.

"It's getting late," she said, her voice holding a note of sadness.

Remus looked around, startled to find that the sun had set and the haze of twilight had fallen on the black lake. "Oh! We should be getting back to the castle." Once again emboldened, he took her hand. She grinned with delight in a way she hadn't done when she took his hand in Hogsmeade, and they set off for the castle at a brisk walk.

Darkness had fallen by the time they reached the entry. Remus heaved the door open, and the flood of light revealed Professors McGonagall and Kettleburn, who was the head of the Ravenclaw house, arguing in the hallway. The professors both started when they saw the two students.

"Remus Lupin!" shouted McGonagall, more surprised than angry. "What are you doing out past hours?" Her right eyebrow disappeared past her hairline when she noticed his hand.

Lila gasped and dropped his hand as though it were poisonous, sheepishly putting hers in her pockets.

McGonagall furrowed her brow. "Lupin, I suggest that you and Miss…?"

"Smith," Lila muttered.

"…You and Miss _Smith_ get back to your dorms before I have you overseeing yourself in detention. Do I make myself _perfectly_ clear?"

"Yes ma'am." Remus needed no further encouraging and began to almost jog away from the scene, Lila scrambling to catch up.

"Wait! Wait a moment, Lupin, I forgot to ask…" Professor Kettleburn called after him.

Remus reluctantly trailed to a stop and turned back around. "Yes, Professor?"

"Have you seen Nymphadora Tonks at all tonight? Her trace went off, but she's not in the Ravenclaw dorms."

"Oh, I haven't seen her tonight. I hope you can find her."

"That's just it, we're having trouble and I'm starting to get concerned. Do think that you could, perhaps, get Miss Evans and the Gryffindor prefects to help us search the castle? The Ravenclaw prefects are already out on the grounds and having no luck at all."

"Sure thing." Remus turned back and hurried towards the Gryffindor common room, realizing with another start that Lila had disappeared. _It must have been too much embarrassment for her… I really don't blame her at all for disappearing_, he thought. Blood pooled in his cheeks as he remembered being caught out after hours, holding a girl's hand. _What must that have looked like?_

Remus reached his common room and spotted Lily right away, reading by the fire, but he really had no intention of involving her. He ran up the stairs to the boys' dorm and threw open James's trunk, sifting under piles of junk until his fingers reached the worn parchment he was seeking. He pulled out his wand and gave the paper a good rap, solemnly swearing that he was up to no good.

He watched as ink spider-webbed across the folds, hunting for two names in particular. Lila's dot was where it should be, in one of the dorms off the Ravenclaw common room. He smiled at the dot stupidly for a moment before remembering his business.

He scanned the castle until he saw "Nymphadora Tonks" scrawled next to a rapidly moving dot on the third floor corridor. "Gotcha!" he said, rolling up the map and setting off towards the main staircase. He knew that if he got to the left wing of the third floor, he could head her off before she got any further.

He reached the wing entrance just as Tonks rounded the corner. Her eyes widened like a deer in the headlights, and she turned around and sprinted the other way. Remus rolled his eyes and ran easily after her. "I can catch you, Tonks, but I'd prefer if you just stopped."

She tripped on a rug but recovered continued on nonetheless.

"Nymphadora…"

She halted dead in her tracks and whirled to face him with a glare. "Don't call me Nymphadora!"

Remus seized his opportunity and waved his wand at her, and she suddenly found herself hanging upside-down by her ankle.

Her mouth opened in shock, but she seemed much too flustered to speak. Remus strode up to her and tilted his head to chuckle at her predicament.

"While I have you here," he said, "I must ask you to stop metamorphosing outside of lessons. You're going to get in a lot of trouble for this, and I don't understand why you need to so badly." He shook his head, still amused at the look of rage on her face.

"Well, you wouldn't!"

"Wouldn't what?"

"Understand. No one would! That's the problem with being the only one of your kind out of all the people you know. People treat you like a freak that needs to be restricted and tied down. They forget there's a person in this body, even if the body changes."

Remus's eyes widened in surprise, and all traces of amusement left his face. "You would be surprised. Believe it or not… I know exactly what you are talking about."

"That's what everyone says," she said dejectedly.

Remus shook his head. "Maybe you're not the only one hiding something." He knew that he had made a mistake as soon as the words left his mouth. Tonks stopped glaring and looked at him curiously, almost calculating. _She wouldn't guess my secret…_ he though frantically. _She's only a… what… second year?_

"What do you…?" Before she could finish the sentence, her ankle suddenly lost its attachment to the sky and she fell out of the air with a scream. Remus leapt forward and caught her before she could hit the ground.

They both turned to see a fifth year Ravenclaw prefect pointing his wand at them with a look of horror on his face. "I'm so sorry!" he stammered. "I knew the countercharm so I though I'd let her down… I didn't think about the fact that she'd fall when I'd done it… I'm so sorry!"

"It's alright…" Remus sighed, letting the quivering Tonks down as McGonagall, Kettleburn, and Dumbledore came running around the corner.

"What's all that noise? Oh!" Kettleburn gasped when she saw Tonks and Remus in the hall before them. "What… how… Nymphadora Tonks, you had better have a good explanation as to where you've been!"

The color drained from the girl's face, and Remus couldn't help but feel sorry for her. "She was on her way to the dorm when someone jinxed her, but she didn't see who. She's been stuck to the ceiling all evening."

Tonks's mouth fell open and she stared at Remus.

Dumbledore looked skeptical. "Is that true, Nymphadora?"

Tonks looked uncertainly at Remus, as though asking his permission to lie to a teacher.

The prefect boy who had been standing by nodded rigorously. "When I came around the corner, she was hanging upside down by her foot! I think Lupin was going to let her down, but I got to her first… and that was stupid, but it's a good thing Lupin caught her before she hit the ground."

McGonagall clicked her tongue. "She does look awfully pale… I suppose we will let you off detention tomorrow evening. Imagine! If your trace hadn't gone off we wouldn't have even known you were missing! Do you need to go to the hospital wing?"

Tonks shook her head. "I'd really rather just go to bed."

"Of course… Lupin, make sure she gets there alright."

"Sure."

Everyone parted ways then, the teachers to their various offices and Remus and Tonks towards the Ravenclaw common room. The pink-haired girl was silent the entire way, not daring to even incline her face in his direction. When they reached the raven knocker, he smiled at her. "Do you suppose you can make it from here without any major incidents?"

She didn't answer his question. "Why did you save me?"

"Save you? I don't think it was that serious."

"You know what I mean. I should have been in so much trouble."

He frowned in thought. "I don't know. I guess I really meant what I said about knowing how you feel. Besides, we all have a little trouble making curfew sometimes." He grimaced, remembering his earlier encounter with the faculty and Lila. "Not that I condone it."

She wouldn't be deterred. "What makes you different?"

He pretended not to know what she meant. "We're all unique."

"But you're like me… I believe that you know how I feel. You have to be different… that is to say, more different than most people."

Remus sighed. "I can see that you aren't going to give this up."

She nodded.

He grinned. "Fine. Find me in ten years, and if you still want to know, I promise I will tell you.

She held out her pinky. "Swear?"

He frowned. "Nymphadora, I am seventeen years old and Head Boy. I think I'm a little beyond pinky promises at this point."

She glared. "_Remus_, I am twelve and not at all beyond them. Swear you'll tell me in ten years."

Remus rolled his eyes, but linked his pinky around her tiny one. "I swear."

**A/N: There you have it! My first chapter in ages... hope I got it right. Please let me know if anyone is still reading this! I hope you all didn't give up on it! Review review review! Love you! LL**


	7. Difference of Opinion

**A/N: Well, I thought I'd do some writing over break, but I realized something. I write fanfiction to procrastinate school work. When I have no schoolwork, I have nothing to procrastinate except fanfiction itself.**

**Differences of Opinion**

Several Days Later

"You know who I miss?" James asked to no one in particular.

He, Sirius, and Peter were crowded at their regular lunch table in the Great Hall. The sun shone down from the ceiling despite the premature frost that covered the grounds. It was premature because it was only early October, and as everyone knows, frost before late November is absurd and unwelcome.

"No," Sirius said absentmindedly, staring critically at his reflection in a spoon. "Look how large my nose is. It looks like it has an engorgement charm on it."

"Spoons just do that. They also flip your reflection upside down, see?" Peter poked his finger at the spoon.

"Well spoons shouldn't be allowed. I look atrocious."

James cleared his throat. "I _said_ do you know who I miss?"

"Who do you miss, James."

James drew himself up with a great tragic look on his face. "I miss Remus Lupin."

At that, Sirius forgot to be concerned with the spoon. "That name rings a bell. Tall, thin sort of fellow, sandy hair? I think I remember him."

A snort came from somewhere nearby. James ignored it. "Whatever happened to that guy?"

"I heard that he was signed into the service of the Queen's army."

"Really? I thought they didn't let you join if you were lycanthropic. Anyway, there is a rumor circulating that he eloped with Madam Pince."

They heard another snort. They ignored it.

Sirius sighed. "Poor fellow. I wonder if we'll ever see him again."

"I'm right here, you guys." Remus said dryly. (He was the one who snorted, for those of you not clever enough to tell.)

The three boys turned to look at him with a start. Sirius jumped up and hugged him. "Remus! I thought I heard something, but I never imagined that it was you. How have you been, old chap?"

"I have been sitting right beside you for the past ten minutes, eating lunch like I do every single day."

"Really? Because I was under the impression that Lila was your only interest in life. You've hardly been around," James pouted. (**A/N: See footnote for clarification.)**

Sirius nodded. "Yeah. It's just a girl! Chasing girls isn't good for you."

"There's the pot calling the kettle black," Remus snapped.

"African American," Peter corrected.

James and Remus stared at him.

Peter shrugged. "Sirius told me that 'black' is politically incorrect. The pot may call the kettle 'African American' because that's not offensive."

"It's true," Sirius said simply. "I learned it when my family went on holiday in Malibu." And of course no one bothered to argue with him because it was useless.

But after a thoughtful pause, James did ask, "What if the kettle is British?"

Remus pushed his plate back and stood up. "You all act so ridiculous. You shouldn't wonder why I don't want to spend my every waking moment in your company." He turned and headed out of the Hall.

"Give Lila our love!" James shouted after him.

"Don't encourage that," muttered Sirius sulkily. He returned to his spoon gazing, although suddenly he was a good deal less into it.

Peter looked up vaguely at the patter of small feet on the stone floor. He spotted Lily Evans walking towards them, looking distracted. Peter elbowed Sirius and pointed to Lily, so Sirius kicked James hard under the table. James looked up, and noticing Lily, began to collect himself. She had the worn, drawn appearance of someone who could use a few extra hours of sleep, with tired eyes and flushed cheeks.

"Was that Remus I saw leaving?" She asked with a frown. "I needed to talk to him."

"You look beat," Sirius said bluntly.

"Thanks," Lily huffed sarcastically.

James slid towards Sirius on the bench, patting the open spot beside him which Remus had vacated. "Pretty as ever, just a little worn out."

Lily eyed the bench wearily before sinking down beside him. She closed her eyes and sighed. "It does feel good to get off my feet."

A plan was formulating in James's mind. "So Lily, is there anything I can do for you to ease the tension? I could lend a hand… or two…"

Lily looked thoughtful, and for a moment James couldn't believe she was actually considering his proposition. "Actually," she said, "I have a lot of homework to catch up on, and I've been overseeing detention every night for weeks now. I don't know what Remus has been up to but he hasn't shown up in awhile. Would you, maybe… I just really need a break."

James was caught off guard. "Well, I was thinking more like I give you a massage or something…" he changed courses at a dangerous look from Lily, "…but sure. Sure, I'll watch detention for you tonight. You go take a nap or homework or anything else you need to do."

Lily's face lit up. "Thank you, James… I really, really appreciate this!" She bounced up, gave him a hug, and rushed out of the hall.

James was frozen on the bench with a big, dopey smile on his face. Sirius eyed him with concern. "James, are you alright?"

"Lily… hugged me… voluntarily. Just now." He turned to Sirius and shook him by the shoulders. "Were you watching that?!"

"Good for you, Prongs," Peter said. "But this does mean you'll be spending the night in detention."

"It's different though… I'm not a prisoner now, I'm the warden. Besides, who knows the rules of detention better than me?"

Classes seemed to drag by for James this afternoon. When James wouldn't stop fidgeting all through Charms, Sirius rolled his eyes as they left the classroom. "I've never seen anyone so excited to go to detention. Lily's not even going to be there."

James shrugged. "I think that maybe doing something nice for her will be a breakthrough for us. I mean, she hugged me! I must be in the right track. I'm excited to keep this flame going."

Peter snorted. "You and her haven't exactly started a flame."

James gave him a serious look. "At least she's stopped pouring water on my matchbook."

"Cute metaphor, James," Remus tried.

James bristled a bit, but kept his voice cool. "Why aren't _you_ going to be overseeing detention tonight? Couldn't you tell that Lily's tired and overworked?"

"She knew what she was getting herself into." For some reason, Remus felt very defensive. He knew which direction this conversation was going to turn. He wanted to keep _her_ name out of this as long as he could.

"I just think you should be helping."

"I would. I just have other plans tonight."

"With Lila?"

"Not that it's any of your business."

There was a long silence. James let out a breath to ease the tension. "This is stupid. We're Marauders. We don't fight over a girl. If you really like her and think she's the best thing for you, then we're behind you."

"I think the key phrase there is 'if you think she's the best thing for you'," Sirius clarified. "It's not like you to be irresponsible."

"I'm fine," Remus said shortly. "I may not be an expert when it comes to courting and snogging and whatnot, but I can handle having a girlfriend."

"Have you?" Sirius looked like a dog pricking its ears in interest.

"Have I what?"

"Snogged her, o'course."

Remus put his nose in the air. "That is also none of your business."

"What's courting?" Peter asked.

"It's kind of like dating with your clothes on," Sirius explained.

"Oh."

**~Footnote – I need to beg clarification on one point made by your authoress. This line has me "pouting," but make sure you realize what this means. Marauders do not "pout" like a little girl whose bubblegum ice cream has fallen on the sidewalk. They pout like men. It's like a small frown of disappointment, but a bit more depressing, like a superhero that has lost a race with a speeding bullet, but only by a little. Hope that clears things up. –James**

**A/N: I hope you now realize why I don't let my characters see my stories until they have been published. **

**In the next chapter, we get back into Remus's head so you can figure out what's going on with the poor fellow. Don't dislike him yet, please. I rather adore him myself.**

**Please review! It motivates me to write more!**


	8. Puzzle Pieces

**A/N: Hey guys! Me again. A few more puzzle pieces for you guys to work on :) First person to solve it gets to join the Remus sleuthing team... you get to hang out and solve mysteries with him. **

**Puzzle Pieces**

Remus strode down the hall briskly, agitated from his argument with the Marauders. Who were they to run his love life? Who were they to tell him who he could see and what was best for him? What gave them the right to lecture him?

The more those venomous thoughts streamed through his veins, the more he knew that he was wrong. The Marauders were only looking out for him… they were, after all, his best friends. Remus shook his head and roughly ran a hand through his hair, pausing in the hall to think.

The problem was that they were right and he knew it. He couldn't stay away from Lila. He had always read mystery novels as a child, racing to put the puzzle pieces together before the ending was revealed. He always grinned victoriously when he could solve a problem that seemed unsolvable. The cloud of mystery that surrounded Lila was too much temptation for him to resist.

He spent as much time around her as he could. There seemed to be two of her, two separate personalities in one brain, like someone had dumped two puzzles into one puzzlebox and asked him to solve them both.

There was one Lila who frustrated him. She was blunt and shallow, having so little personality that whenever he was with her he looked for something to like and really couldn't care less about one pointless thing she blathered about.

He was half in love with the second Lila. She was deep, witty, quick-minded and observant. She smiled and laughed, but she was not overly gratuitous in her giggles. She was beautiful inside and out.

As Remus scattered the pieces around him, he knew he needed help. There were just too many to deal with alone.

Remus pulled out the map that he had taken from James's trunk and set off to hunt down his friends. When he came upon them in the Gryffindor dorm, they fell silent so suddenly that he was certain they had been discussing him. They exchanged sheepish looks with each other; they knew they weren't fooling Remus.

"It's alright," Remus sighed. "Whatever you're saying, I probably earned it. I've been an unmitigated deplorable dim-wit."

"Yes," James said with a lopsided grin. "Whatever that means. I got the 'dim-wit' part clearly."

There was a moment of silence, and then Remus shrugged. "I'm sorry, and I need your help."

"Of course we'll help you. We've all had stupid moments. Some of us have had more than others." James gave a pointed look at Sirius, who stuck out his tongue.

"Okay, I need help figuring out Lila."

"She is rather odd," Sirius nodded. "Like, is she in Ravenclaw or Hufflepuff? She has class with us when we're with the Ravenclaws, but I always see her at the Hufflepuff table."

Peter jumped in. "That one night in the hall, she said she'd been at Hogwarts since her first year, but I heard that Gwendolyn Thomas heard that she transferred in from an English witch finishing school _this_ year."

"Are her eyes blue or brown?" James asked.

They sat and thought. Sirius drew a sharp breath. "There's one more thing I forgot to tell you. We're related."

"You're related to _who_?"

"Lila. I week ago I had a little… tussle… with Regulus over him calling Nicolas Batten a mudblood, and he said that at least one of us had some sense. I gave him an Indian arm burn until he told me what he meant, and he said that Remus Lupin was dating a pureblood… one in our family. He saw her last holiday at a family gathering, but I wasn't there since I'd already moved in with James. I didn't tell you because we were fighting and then I forgot until just now."

There was a long silence. James had a deep frown. "You don't suppose she's into all that… _pureblood_ mania nonsense?

Remus shook his head violently. "No. She wouldn't. She's got too much sense to be into that kind of stuff."

The others exchanged uncomfortable looks. "Do you know for sure?" James asked with hesitation.

"Of course!" Remus snapped, but his look of confidence was faltering.

"Don't get mad again, Remus, but we really don't know anything about her. She could be a Death Eater, for all you know."

Remus shot him a look. "Don't be ridiculous. She's no more a Death Eater than you, me, or Peter."

"I was just joking, but come on… she's in the _Black_ family."

"I'm in the Black family, but that doesn't make me evil," Sirius said. "Anyway, she's actually a Smith. My mother's sister's daughter married a Smith, so my cousin… it's complicated. But Andromeda's my cousin too, and she's really nice. So is her daughter, Tonks. But of course, Remus knows her…"

Remus rolled his eyes. "I can't help that that little girl has a crush on me."

Peter looked strained, like he was thinking about something very hard, and the effort was difficult for him. "You don't suppose that Tonks is Lila, do you? I mean, Tonks can look like anyone she wants, right?"

The other boys froze at the sound of something intelligent coming from Peter's mouth.

"Maybe…" Sirius started.

"No," James said. "Remember that first day in the cafeteria, when Remus asked Lila out and Tonks stormed out of the cafeteria? They were both in the same room."

"You're right," Remus said. "Anyways, when Tonks was wandering around the other night, I used the Marauder's map to find her. Look." Remus pulled out the map and tapped it. "I solemnly swear I am up to no good." Little black lines spider-webbed across the page. They searched until they found two points of interest. "There's Lila's dot in Muggle Studies class. There's Tonks's dot headed towards the Great Hall."

"We'll just have to find a new theory."

"In the mean time, can we please go to supper?" Peter whined, and Sirius's stomach growled in response.

"Well, we can't say no to that!" The boys got up and headed to supper.

"I hope Lila's not some manic pureblood lover, for Remus's sake," Sirius said as they passed through the corridor.

Remus shrugged. "I _am_ a pureblood."

"But besides the obvious fact that it's all nonsense, can you imagine her finding out you're a _werewolf_?"

"Shut _up_, Sirius!"

But it was too late. There was a sharp gasp from behind them, and they all whirled around to see Lila, frozen in place as the color drained from her face.

Remus thought fast. "It's not what you think!"

Lila shook her head slowly in disbelief.

"Really! Sirius was just messing around. I'm not a… you know."

Lila didn't respond. She turned on her heel and fled from the hall.

Sirius was almost shaking. "I'm so, so sorry, Remus… I didn't know she was there!"

"You couldn't have known… I need to talk to her before she tells someone…" His voice sounded hollow, dead.

"Remus… was that the Lila that would tell, or the Lila that wouldn't tell?" James asked.

Oddly enough, Remus knew what he meant. "I don't know. I just have to find her." He was out of the hall and after her in a flash.

**A/N: Uh-oh! Once again, maybe you can start to solve this now. **

**Soooo one more thing. Sometimes people point out little things that are wrong with my writing, and that's fine, I don't mind constructive criticisms. The problem is when people always have the same complaints about details and characters and canon-ness (?). If you ever have one of these questions, please see my profile and make sure it isn't already answered. I made a quick Q&A for commonly asked questions or complaints, and I'm not going to bother to respond if it's already there. Also, I like profile hits :) **

**Please review the story with guesses or anything else!**

**LL**


	9. Secrets Spilled

**A/N: Started a Twilight story too, so I'm going to be two-timing you all. That doesn't mean I'll be updating half as often, it means I'll be updating... when I do. Which shouldn't be too long.**

**Secrets Spilled**

By the time Remus reached the corridor from the hallway, Lila was nowhere to be found. He sprinted to his dorm to retrieve the Marauder's Map. He found it in the bottom of James's trunk, mixed in with a bunch of old essays that he was saving to reuse. Remus smoothed the parchment, unfolding it as he ran down the stairs and to the portrait hole. He pulled out his wand and said "I solemnly swear--" but he was cut off when he heard his name being shouted from the other side.

"I must see him right away! Let me in!"

"Darling," he heard the simpering voice of the fat lady, "if you don't know the password then I can't let you in. Ask a prefect if you must. Now, shoo!"

"But the only Gryffindor prefect I know is Remus Lupin! And he's inside, I think!" The girl stomped her foot.

"I'm right here, Lila," Remus said, pushing the portrait open.

The girl started with a gasp. "Remus!"

The both stared at each other in silence. Lila shifted her feet uncomfortably. "I was coming to find you. I think… maybe if you explained…"

"I was coming to find you, too. Listen…" Remus started. He wasn't even sure what to say after that.

"It's okay."

"Really?" Remus said skeptically. "You're just dandy with me being a monster and all?"

Lila looked at her feet. "I… don't believe that you're a monster."

"Well, start believing. It's true, what Sirius said."

Lila looked up, a bit of determination flickering in her eyes. "It doesn't matter if it's true or not. It's just once a month, right? Like… you wouldn't become one now, in the hall with me… right?" she shifted away from him, almost imperceptibly.

"No. Just on the full moon."

"Have you ever… you know… eaten anyone?" She turned pink.

Remus didn't know whether to smile or look disgusted. He settled for a cringe. "Not that I know of." He sat against the wall and patted the spot on the rock floor next to him. "You can sit… if you're not afraid of me."

Lila sat down bravely, trying to hide her slight hesitation. "I'm not afraid. I'd probably be if it were anyone else, but you're too nice. It makes more sense that if a werewolf were at Hogwarts, he would be a Slytherin. They seem the type."

Remus frowned. "A werewolf isn't a bad person, just an unfortunate one."

"I guess not." She looked thoughtful. "I think it would be hypocritical for me to think that changing a person's appearance would change who they were."

"Why, did you used to be ugly?" Remus snorted.

"Sort of."

They sat in silence for a bit longer. As Remus figured out that she wasn't afraid of him and wasn't going to tell anyone his secret, he felt a wave of relief wash over him. "Thanks, Lila. I was really afraid that— "

"Don't mention it," she said. She paused. "Hey Remus?"

"Yeah?"

"Does it… hurt you? … The changing?" She looked at him with round, scared eyes. Not only was she not afraid of him, she was afraid he would be hurt. Remus broke into a grin.

"Nope," he lied.

* * *

The next few days, Remus and the Marauders were on the edge of their nerves, waiting to see if anything had leaked out. As far as they could tell, no one was any the wiser about Remus's condition. They slowly began to let their guard down.

The boys were walking to their Transfiguration class together, feeling more carefree then they'd felt since Sirius opened his big mouth and started the incident. James was in a particularly good mood. "Lily might let me take her to Hogsmeade if she doesn't get too much homework this weekend," he crowed.

"She's going to have too much homework, I guarantee," Sirius said.

"Still, the possibility is there."

"What happened, anyway?" Peter asked.

James seemed to inflate at the opportunity to tell the story. "Well, I was overseeing detention for her the other night, and she came anyway, just to make sure that I actually showed up." He paused and gave a knowing look. "At least… that's what she told me, but I think she just wanted to see me."

Sirius snorted, but James ignored him and continued. "She asked if I had everything under control, and I said—" He arched an eyebrow and struck a pose like a superhero, and then deepened his voice an octave—"Lily, leave everything to me. Now you go enjoy yourself, little lady." James tipped an invisible hat.

"It happened just like that, did it?" Remus asked skeptically.

"Yep." James could see that no one believed him, so he quickly changed the subject. "Well, you sure lucked out with Lila. What a girl!"

"She really came through for me," Remus agreed. "I can't believe she didn't tell anyone."

"Tell anyone what?" said a honey-like voice from behind them. Remus turned to see Lila behind them.

He smiled gratefully at her. "Oh, you know. That secret…" He glanced around. There were too many people to remind her, but honestly, how could she _not_ know what they were talking about?

"Oh, right," she said, comprehension dawning on her face. "You mean that we snogged in the school orchard? Actually, I've told everyone." She gave him a kiss on the nose. "See you in class, Remus." She flounced away, golden tresses bouncing behind her.

"That was odd," Remus remarked, trying to hide his major blush with a quizzical expression. The three other Marauders were hooting with laughter behind him.

"Aw Moony! Why didn't you tell us?!" James gasped between snorts.

"Because I knew you'd act like this," he grumbled. "Besides, I've had a lot on my mind."

Sirius's laughter ceased rather suddenly. "Crap," he said. "Now I'm really the only one with no date."

"What about me?" Peter asked.

The others looked at him. "Let's be serious, Wormtail," Sirius said.

**A/N: Hey guys! Thanks for reading thus far :) **

**One quick thing: If you are ever waiting for the next chapter to come up and simply MUST do some reading, I have a few one-shots posted. Just check it out on my profile. For instance, if you felt like reading "A Lot to Get Past," which is one of my more serious ones, and say, you left a review, I might be in such a good mood that I post more chapters here! Not that I'm starving for reviews and have to resort to begging. But I am. So do it. (Please.)**


	10. Looking for the Lost Broomstick

**A/N: Check out my C2 Marauder Medley! You should probaly also subscribe to it. :)**

**Looking for the Lost Broomstick**

One sunny Wednesday afternoon, Remus and Lila were lazing under the snowy beech tree by the lake. They were bundled up in coats and scarves and laughing about something that most people wouldn't find funny, but they found it very funny because they were quite happy just to be together.

"Remus?" Lila said after a moment of catching their breath from laughing.

"Hmm?" He turned his head to meet her eyes. Blue. They were always blue now. _And they always have been blue, you nutter_, he corrected himself.

She frowned a little, as though she was struggling to phrase her next thought. "Am I…"

She trailed off. Remus nudged her softly with his elbow. "Are you what?"

She mumbled something he couldn't hear. He frowned and leaned closer. "What was that?"

"Am I your girlfriend?"

Remus felt his heart jump into his stomach and his stomach flip into his throat and a bunch of other pieces of him going places they had no business going. He broke into a huge grin. "Yes, I think so. If… you want to be."

She smiled and nodded very quickly, which made him laugh again.

Remus glanced casually at his watch to see that it was one-twenty-eight. He leapt up quite suddenly. "Lila, don't you have class at one-thirty?"

"No. I mean… yes. Why?"

"It's one-twenty eight!"

Her mouth popped into an 'O' and she leapt up as well. "Will I see you tonight?" she asked, taking his mitten in her mitten as they ran towards the castle.

Remus frowned. He knew he should be helping with detention tonight… but he really didn't like to pass up a moment in Lila's time. "Yes, I suppose so. We could come back here after dinner."

Lila stopped to beam at him.

"One-twenty-nine," Remus reminded her. They took off running again. When they reached the entrance to the castle, Remus bent down for a quick goodbye kiss. Lila shied away so he got her cheek.

They stared at each other quite awkwardly for a moment. Lila looked a bit frightened. "I… I'm sorry, Remus. I… just don't think I'm ready." He voice quavered.

Remus gave her a befuddled look, wondering whether this was some kind of odd trick. "It's just a quick kiss, Lila."

"I know, it's just… Oh! It's one-thirty-one! I'm late!" With that, she turned around and ran away from him, in quite the opposite direction of her next class.

Remus stared after her, scratching his head.

James peered out the door at him. "Whassamatter, Remus? You look like you did when you only got an 'Acceptable' on your Runes essay."

He shrugged. "It's nothing."

"Okay… well, come in from the cold. We've got potions in a half-hour." James and Remus walked together towards the common room to get their books. When they arrived, James noticed that Remus still seemed unusually distracted. "Are you sure everything's okay? You've been staring at the cover of _The Art of Brewing Antidotes_ for two minutes."

Remus looked up at him as though he hadn't heard. "Do they have a counter-charm for confundment?"

James arched a brow quizzically. "Why, do you think someone's confounded you?"

"Maybe. Lila."

James nodded knowingly. "Acting odd again, is she? I swear, that girl has more secrets than you. What's she done now?"

Remus turned a bit pink around the collar because of what he was about to admit to his best friend. "She wouldn't let me kiss her."

"Did you do something to upset her?"

"I don't think so. It was just a kiss goodbye, and she turned to give me the cheek. Said she wasn't 'ready'."

"That _is _strange, because we all know she adores you. Didn't you snog her the other day?"

Remus blushed an even deeper red than before. "Yes, and she even initiated that."

James sank into a stuffed chair and frowned. "That is just odd. I don't know what to tell you, mate. You picked a weird one. Pretty enough… but weird."

"That's not even the strangest part. After that she ran away, even though she had class. Took off down the hall in the other direction."

James shrugged this off. "She was probably just embarrassed."

"Still, it was odd." Remus looked thoughtful. "Can I see the map? I wonder where she was headed."

James pulled it absentmindedly from his pocket with one hand as he fished his bag for a lost quill with the other.

Remus scanned the map for a moment. He had trouble finding her dot in her dorm or the halls and classrooms and anywhere else that it seemed she might have gone. He vaguely noted a dot marked "_N. Tonks_" bobbing towards the Ravenclaw dormitory when he spotted Lila's dot on the third floor.

"Found her. I think she's hiding."

James wasn't paying much attention to him, digging deeper for the elusive quill. "Oh? Why do you think that?"

"She's in a broom cupboard on the third floor."

James finally stood up, his favorite smart-answer quill held triumphantly in his hand. "Lemme see," he said, bending to look at the map over Remus's shoulder. "What's she doing in a broom cupboard with Amos Diggory?"

Remus frowned. He hadn't noticed the second dot in there, although how, he couldn't tell. They were practically one on top of the other. "Perhaps she's helping his find a broomstick he's lost?"

"She'll find his broomstick, alright."

Remus's mouth dropped open.

James tried to cover himself. "I mean… I didn't mean for it to come out like that, Remus. I'm sure they're not doing anything they shouldn't be."

Although as Remus and James met each other's eyes, they both knew he was lying.

At that moment, Sirius and Peter came into the common room. "Hey guys, we've been looking for you," Sirius barked.

"We're gonna be late for potions!" Peter added loudly.

They both stopped when they saw the look on Remus and James's faces.

"What's wrong?" Sirius asked. "Someone died?"

James handed him the map. Sirius scanned it for a moment before a pained look slid onto his face. "Uh…" he thought quickly. "Perhaps she's helping him look for a broomstick he's lost?"

**A/N: Hopefully you've all taken my time off to suffieciently prepare yourselves for this chapter... it's a bit grave, I'm sorry to say.**


	11. Solution

**A/N: Terribly short, and a terribly long time coming, but wouldn't you prefer that to nothing at all? Also, you might want to go back and review what's happened. This chapter is revealing, but it picks up right after the last. Believe it or not, I love you!**

**Solution**

An hour later, Remus was pacing the common room dejectedly. The other three Marauders were watching him go back and forth, back and forth, wearing a trail on the plush scarlet rug.

"Sorry, Buddy. You really don't deserve that," James said.

Peter nodded. "We'll find a way to get her back. I mean, get back at her."

"Let's curse their eyebrows off," Sirius added helpfully. "I know how to do that."

"I don't _want _to," Remus mumbled. The others looked up at him in surprise.

"Why not?" James asked. "I know you liked her and wanted to take care of her… but even now? Still?"

Remus stopped pacing and met his eyes. "If it were Lily, what would you do?"

After a pause, James looked at his feet and nodded. "I'd want an explanation first."

Remus glanced at the clock. "It's after three already," he said, resuming his pacing. "She must be out of class by now. I'll just have to go find her and we'll talk. I'm sure there must be a believable, logical explanation for the dots on the map. Maybe Digory really did lose a broomstick." He nodded fiercely to the other boys and spun towards the door, marching off without another word.

Sirius saluted his retreating figure. "There's a man of real character."

"We've taught him well," James agreed.

There was a long pause.

"He's gonna get his heart broken."

"Yep."

Remus wanted to head directly towards Lila's dorm, but he wasn't sure whether to go to Ravenclaw tower or the Hufflepuff wing. "Some boyfriend I am," he muttered to himself. "Don't even know what house she's in."

He turned a corner, and luck would have it, almost ran directly into her.

"Lila!" He gasped in surprise.

"Hi Remus," she giggled, a bit out of breath. "We keep _running into _each other." She spoke as though she were being riotously clever and immediately convulsed into a chuckling fit.

"Yes," Remus said with a tight smile. "Listen, Lila, I've been meaning to talk to you about something."

She sighed. "If you're asking me to Hogsmeade again, I can't go with you. Last time was fun enough, but Amos Digory has already asked for next time. And then, we _kissed_!"

Remus's mouth fell open in surprise. He expected her to deny it. Beat around it. Lie. Explain. He never expected her to be so blunt. "I thought you would go with me," he said, but the words were deflated, airless.

She gave him a sympathetic, but let's-be-serious look. "He's the Hufflepuff Quidditch captain, Remus, and you can't say no to that."

"Can't you?"

"No."

Remus was surprised that he had found something his flexible mind could not wrap around. "I thought you were my girlfriend," he said, his voice grating with accusation.

She laughed condescendingly. "I'm not sure where you got that idea—"

"Oh, shut up!" Remus snapped. He felt betrayed, made fun of, and humiliated, and he was though with that. "You've got to be the most intellectually shallow, silliest, conceited, daffiest girl I have ever—!" He stopped short and his mouth dropped further open than it had probably ever been dropped before.

For at that moment, James, Sirius, and Peter came around the corner behind Lila, dragging a reluctant prisoner with them.

"We found the cheatin' harpy, Remus; we've got her for you!" Sirius crowed. He and James moved aside and revealed their struggling prisoner. It was… Lila?

Everyone fell silent and stared back and forth between the two girls. Lila and Lila stared at each other as well. It was a brief second before everyone began shouting at once.

"Who are you?"

"Who are _you!?"_

"Who are they?"

""There are two!"

It was true: the two girls standing across from each other were almost identical, except one was notably shorter and the other notably prettier. Remus was the only one who had no words to contribute. He looked at the Lila he had been speaking to, and cringed at her shrill screeches of outrage. He then turned his attention to the prettier, shorter Lila who had been dragged around the corner by the Marauders. She looked pale and stunned.

"Will the real Lila Smith please stand up?" Sirius said finally.

The girl Remus had been talking to previously stomped her foot. "I'm the real Lila. I'm Lila Smith! This is some… imposter!" She gestured angrily at the shorter girl.

James frowned. "So if this is Lila… then who is _that_?"

They all turned to the second Lila expectantly. She looked frantic for a moment, desperate for another moment, and then burst into tears. Everyone else exchanged glances: confusion, in the case of the Marauders, and outrage, in the case of the identified "real" Lila.

No one knew quite what to do until Remus felt a crinkling in his inside robe pocket. He patted his pocket and felt the Marauder's Map there. "I know how we can figure this out!" He said. He pulled out the map and unfolded it. Luckily, he had forgotten to wipe it clean so he didn't have to say the password in front of the two Lilas. He quickly scanned it for the dots that represented it for their party. His eyes narrowed, and with a gasp of shock, he looked up at the second Lila.

"You have a lot of explaining to do, Nymphadora Tonks."

**A/N: Gasp!**

**One or two chapters left!**

**Luvs.**


	12. The Sheep

**A/N: Story is almost done! Just a couple more chapters and maybe an epilogue. But you finally get the first part of your explanation here. The title, as you may have guessed, comes from the phrase "A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing," which seemed appropriate because it is someone pretending to be someone else... and also the wolf reference was fitting. Anyway, this chapter is a turn around from the rest.**

**The Sheep**

**Ladies and Gentleman, Wolf in a Sheepsuit through the eyes of Nyrandosanphranoradora Tonks. Or whatever Sirius called her.**

The first day of school was about the worst thing I'd ever experienced… that is, until I ran into him.

Literally, ran into him. I fell to the ground in the corridor of the train in a pile of my own books. I sat there wishing I could be someone else… anyone else. Someone that a guy like Remus Lupin could fall in love with. That's when the idea hit me: if anyone could be someone else just by wishing, I guess that person is me. Why else could I have been given this ability?

Now don't start judging me right away. I'm only twelve, to start with, and I am about as in love as you can be at that age. Those to factors don't often lead up to the most well-thought-out decisions.

After he helped me to my feet and stole my heart, I sat in a compartment alone and made one of the rashest decisions I have ever made. I was going to break school rules and become someone else to win the heart of the Hogwarts head boy… who happened to be five years older than me. I know, it's crazy. You don't have to tell me.

I pulled the blinds of my compartment and I tried to think of the type of person a guy like him would notice. She would probably have wavy golden hair like a princess—that's no trouble. With a scrunch of my nose, it was done. She would have clear skin, rosy cheeks, thick lashes… done done done. I tried to lengthen my nose… it was much too short and pixie-like, in my opinion. Gazing at my reflection in the window, I couldn't quite get it right. I realized that I was going to have to use someone as a template, because the most realistic features probably already exist in some face or another.

I remembered at my family Christmas party last year, my cousin Regulus had tried to set one of his mates up with a relative… my second cousin or something like that. Lila Smith, that was her name. He wouldn't set a friend up with someone ugly. And Regulus and Remus had been together on the train… perhaps they have similar tastes? Or was that Sirius I had seen with him… they look so similar. Lila had the wavy golden locks, the nice skin, the perfectly formed nose… and just like that, I pulled her features one by one into my brain, and consequently, onto my face. One check in the mirror and I knew I had it right.

I slowly slid the door open and stepped out with caution. A boy walked by me and looked me up and down… with suspicion? Misgiving? No… appreciation. It wasn't a look I was familiar with. I smiled confidently… this was going to work!

Then he came—Remus came—down the hall before I was prepared for him. Once again, I toppled to the ground. A wave of panic raced through me. If my clumsiness gave me away so soon…

But it didn't. He was looking down at me with an unfathomable expression on his face… once again, appreciation. Confidence like nothing I'd felt before washed over me from my toes to my hairline. I wasn't afraid of making a fool of myself because I wasn't myself. Does that make sense?

"Are you alright?" I asked, tossing my voice out in a way that I hoped sounded nothing like me.

"Oh, of course, I should be asking you that." He blushed and took my hand, helping me up for the second time that day. I… made… him… _blush_.

"I'm Lila Smith," I said. Might as well make the lie complete.

"Remus Lupin," he replied.

"It was nice to meet you, Remus."

"You too."

And just like that, I was hooked. What did it matter if I spent every night in detention? Remus Lupin wanted to hold my hand! The head boy, _seventeen-year-old_ head boy, wanted to see me. I made him smile. I made him laugh. And you expect me to be logical about this?

Of course I had a nagging fear that he would find out the truth about me. The first time I was actually doubtful of my ruse was that first night when I went after detention to see him in the hall, and Sirius was here. I had forgotten that Sirius and I... or Lila, I mean, were related. Would he recognize me as his...second cousin… third cousin once removed… or however he and Lila were related? I'm sure he didn't, because I felt like he was flirting with me, and that would just be gross if we were related… which, I reminded myself, we still were. But he didn't know that. Besides, Lila had been schooling at Durmstrang because her family didn't want her under the influence of any "bad seed" like "Sirius Black… the blood traitor." And he hadn't been at the Christmas party… it was possible that they'd never met at all!

I had to cover for myself several times in that conversation, but I thought it went fairly well.

"It was good to run into you again, Lila." Remus said politely.

"Yes, perhaps are next rendezvous should be intentional." I still can't believe I said that. It sounded so bold! Sophisticated! So not-twelve-years-old of me! I walked away feeling very pleased as he stuttered behind me.

When I went to breakfast the next morning, the blood drained from my face. Lila smith was at the Hufflepuff table. The real Lila Smith. How could I have made such an error!? Wasn't she supposed to be at Durmstrang? I found out later… much too late… that she had transferred because her parents were concerned about the accusations being flung around the school. Hogwarts was a much safer place to be if you don't want your Death Eater father to be suspected…

Of course, Lila was uninvolved in all that. She was nowhere near intelligent or gutsy enough to choose a side in the war. But I knew that if Remus spoke two words to her, he would know she wasn't me—I wasn't her. Perhaps he wouldn't notice her there? Too late… he walked over and tapped her on the shoulder. But something wasn't right, and he went back to his table. I breathed a sigh of relief. Maybe I didn't look similar enough…?

But then she got up and followed him to his table! He asked her to Hogsmeade! My plans had been ruined! I slammed my fork down and raced out of the great hall. I had some serious rethinking to do.

I ended up doing my thinking in detention. McGonagall came up to me right after breakfast and informed me that I had once again broken the rules and landed my butt in her office. But… what luck! Remus was running detention again.

Whenever I was Tonks and not Lila, I lost all confidence around him. Even though he could never fall for me, I still wanted him to like the real me. That would justify the whole lie, if I could manage it… wouldn't it?

So when I felt him approaching my desk, I tried to pretend he wasn't. It didn't work. I snapped my quill in half out of nerves and swore as the ink spread across my lines. I saw him shaking a bit beside me… at least I could still make him laugh.

"Tonks," he whispered. "What are you doing? You know you can't metamorphose before you're of age. You already landed yourself in detention twice, and it's only the second day!"

I didn't want to meet his eyes because I thought he would see through the facade. To cover myself, I pretended this was all about the hair color from breakfast. "I got detention for the purple this morning. But the pink is muggle dye. I did it at lunch so I won't have to get in trouble for it anymore."

"Why don't you just leave it the color it is?"

"I shouldn't have to. Don't tell me you wouldn't change your hair and your face if you could." I was speaking blasphemy. I wished that he would never change a hair on his head.

He ran a hand through his hair and frowned. It was such a deep look that I looked away, afraid to intrude. "I suppose," he finally settled. "But try to stay out of trouble from now on."

He walked away from me though I wished he would stay. I muttered my desires under my breath. "But I don't mind detention so much."

I heard a snicker and glanced up. To my horror, I knew that wretched James Potter had heard what I had said.

"Somebody's in loooove!" He crowed as they left the room.

Remus defended me. "Don't be so hard on her. Little girls get crushes on you and Sirius all the time. She'll get over it."

He called me a little girl. _Little girl_… like I was five! I stopped behind them with a gasp. They didn't notice and kept going.

"Yes, besides, that's illegal." James was saying. "Still, if you're in love with anybody, it's Lila. I can't believe you got a Hogsmeade date so quickly!"

They rounded the corner and I stopped following. I could never have Remus as myself, and I knew that. There was only one way for this to work. I would have to live precariously as Lila Smith.

**A/N: This covers the first four chapters. The rest of Tonks's story will probably be up later tonight or tomorrow! Please take a moment to let me know what you think.**


	13. The Wolf

**A/N: Some lovely long writing for you. I meant to get this out sooner, but I forgot I had a horse show tonight. I won, by the way. Yay! The next portion of Tonk's story is here. It should only take one more to finish her explanation. I am not going to edit because I have to sleep, but I will tomorrow.**

**The Wolf**

Saturday was agonizingly long… I had to sit in and do homework with everyone else below third year while the older kids went to Hogsmeade. Remus was taking that fool of a girl, Lila Smith. I had been studying her that week, hoping that I could act enough like her to keep Remus from being suspicious. So far, I had learned that I was doing the girl a big favor by pretending to be her. How Remus could intentionally spend a day with that droll airhead of a girl was beyond me. I could only make her look more sensible.

When he left, I saw that he looked very handsome and also very uncomfortable. I couldn't help but think that maybe if it were me he was taking to Hogsmeade, he might look a tad less apprehensive. We would get butterbeers at Three Broomsticks and go look at the Shrieking Shack and maybe tell stories about the ghosts that lived there. Would he like that, or would he be too sensible to believe in evil spirits haunting a house?

I wondered where he would go with the real Lila. Probably shopping and Puddifoots… gag me with a spoon.

I waited all day for his return. When he and his friends came gallivanting down the main corridor, I was surprised and secretly pleased that Lila was not with him. This was my turn for a date with Remus.

When Remus and his friends looked up and noticed me, I was Lila. He stopped, looking a bit confused about something. I wondered if I had forgotten to change my hair or something… nope, everything looked fine. I cleared my throat.

"Hullo James, Peter, Sirius… Remus," I added as though he were an afterthought. No need to sound desperate. "Would you mind joining me for a stroll?"

His brow furrowed. "But we just got back from Hogsmeade." He didn't look all that thrilled, to be honest. Why did I have to be impersonating a moron?

And how could I have forgotten? Of course, they just spent the whole day together, and it would be silly to ask him out again…

"Right, and that was lovely, but I didn't feel like we really got to talk. You know, about anything important. I really wasn't myself."

So much for not sounding desperate. I was practically begging him to stay with me. Still, he agreed, and as we set off across the grounds, I couldn't help but feeling a bit giddy.

Everything felt so right. Conversation came easily between us, and even the silence wasn't uncomfortable. I could imagine myself all grown up, talking to Remus and walking just like this. Except my hair would be pink.

I thought I had done everything perfectly until he gave me a puzzled look. "Did you get contacts? I could swear your eyes were blue earlier today."

I felt like my stomach was going to come out of my throat. I looked away quickly. Once again, I had made a stupid mistake. Of course I should have checked what color her eyes were… but instead I had left them my usual chocolate brown. I scrunched my nose and fixed the problem. Let him think himself crazy.

"No… I don't think so. They are always blue… it must just be the light of the forest that's making them appear brown."

He frowned at me for a moment and I was sure he could see right through the new blue in my eyes and back to the brown, he was looking so deeply. After a long pause, he accepted it. "Oh… yes, I see… they are blue again," Remus stuttered. "I could have sworn that just now… never mind."

"Remus, sometimes you say the most peculiar things." I felt terrible for lying to him.

Because that's what I was doing. I was lying. Would he forgive me when he learned the truth? _Would_ he learn the truth?

I was so deep in thought that I tripped over nothing and fell in the dirt, swearing. I froze when I remembered Remus there – how I had forgotten he was there, I don't know – and looked at him sheepishly. There I go, giving myself away again.

He helped me to my feet, ever the gentleman, and asked if I was alright. "Spiffing," I replied.

We talked the whole way back to the castle. My heart rose inside of me when he called me beautiful, but it only took me a moment to realize that I was not myself at all. He was calling Lila beautiful.

But he was still holding my hand, and I was grinning like a schoolgirl in love. Which, after all, I just might be.

When we arrived at the castle, McGonagall and Kettleburn sounded upset to see Remus out after hours. They must have assumed he could do no wrong. He apologized, and we were just about to escape when....

"Wait! Wait a moment, Lupin, I forgot to ask. Have you seen Nymphadora Tonks at all tonight? Her trace went off, but she's not in the Ravenclaw dorms."

Needless to say, it took me about thirty seconds to disappear around the corner.

I was halfway to the Ravenclaw dorms (free of my Lila disguise) when I heard feet running after me. "I can catch you, Tonks, but I'd prefer if you just stopped."

I stopped and changed courses. How could he have found me so quickly?

I tripped on a rug, but I caught myself and kept running. A voice taunted behind me. "Nymphadora…"

How _dare_ he call me that!? I stopped dead and whirled around to holler at him. "Don't call me Nymphadora!"

Before I knew what had happened, he had waved his wand and I was stuck to the ceiling.

He walked up to me and tilted his head, bemused. I was trying to think of a bad enough word to call him, thought I had to admit the boy was fast with that hex.

"While I have you here," he said, "I must ask you to stop metamorphosing outside of lessons. You're going to get in a lot of trouble for this, and I don't understand why you need to so badly." He shook his head at me.

"Well, you wouldn't!"

"Wouldn't what?"

I decided to let him in on a little frustration of mine. "Understand. No one would! That's the problem with being the only one of your kind out of all the people you know. People treat you like a freak that needs to be restricted and tied down. They forget there's a person in this body, even if the body changes."

He looked at me for a long time. It was difficult to read his expression. Sympathy? No, something more. Maybe it _was_ understanding. "You would be surprised. Believe it or not… I know exactly what you are talking about."

I rolled my eyes. "That's what everyone says."

"Maybe you're not the only one hiding something."

It wasn't the words or the way he said it. It was his _expression _that gave him away. It was the brief flash of panic when someone realizes they've said too much. He was hiding something. "What do you…?"

I never got to finish my question, because at that moment, the curse binding me from the ceiling was released, and I was very distracted from the conversation as I fell with a shriek into Remus's arms.

He released me, with a good deal of blushing on my part. A whole slew of professors came in response to my yell, but miraculously, Remus covered for me. Even more miraculously, McGonagall let me off from detention!

I was so pleased with the evening's progression that I forgot about our conversation until we had made it back to the dorms.

"What makes you different?" I reminded him. It sounded more polite than_ what are you hiding from everyone_, but I think he caught my meaning, though he tried to pretend he hadn't.

"We're all unique."

I shook my head. "But you're like me… I believe that you know how I feel. You have to be different… that is to say, more different than most people."

Remus sighed. "I can see that you aren't going to give this up."

I nodded. Most definitely not.

He grinned. "Fine. Find me in ten years, and if you still want to know, I promise I will tell you."

"Swear?" I offered him my pinky to seal the promise. It was nice to be able to act my age.

He frowned. "Nymphadora, I am seventeen years old and Head Boy. I think I'm a little beyond pinky promises at this point."

I glared. "_Remus_, I am twelve and not at all beyond them. Swear you'll tell me in ten years."

Remus rolled his eyes, but linked his pinky around mine. I loved it. I loved it. I love him. "I swear."

He left, and I floated into my dorm. _You can't be in love, you silly girl_! I told myself to no avail. _Love is for grownups!_

Still, over the next few days, I became more and more infatuated with the older boy. He never looked as happy with the real Lila as he did with me, I couldn't help but notice. Probably the only reason he stayed with her was because of me. I felt awful about the times he had to put up with that dolt, but I felt that it was worth the hassle whenever he squeezed my hand.

And was it ever a hassle! I had to be sure of the schedules to know that Lila would not come walking around the corner and see Remus with her doppelganger. I had to avoid her friends who might mistake me for her and want to go shopping or want me to paint their toe-nails or something equally atrocious. I especially had to be careful of myself, not to give too much away or say just the wrong thing that would bring my carefully balanced house of cards crashing down. I was afraid every moment that he would see something in the _other_ Lila that would make him want to leave _me._

I heard that almost happen once. He was walking down the hall with his friends, going to dinner, when I heard Lila's name come up and couldn't help but eavesdrop. Just to be coy, I thought I'd change in to my Lila disguise and sneak up on them. I hadn't even checked to make sure the real Lila wasn't around, but I had grown reckless.

"I hope Lila's not some manic pureblood lover, for Remus's sake," Sirius was saying.

_I hope so too!_ I thought as I crept closer. I hadn't really looked into her beliefs to see if, in addition to her limited intelligence, she was also prejudiced.

Remus shrugged. "I _am_ a pureblood."

And then came the words that changed the way I saw Remus Lupin forever.

"But besides the obvious fact that it's all nonsense, can you imagine her finding out you're a _werewolf_?"

"Shut _up_, Sirius!"

I couldn't help but gasp, and it was too late to stifle the sound. They whirled to face me, and I was suddenly very afraid of them. Remus was some kind of monster? And his friends looked so angry…

Remus was as white as a ghost. "It's not what you think!" He said weakly, desperately.

I didn't know what to say. The thoughts in my head were coming so quickly that they tripped over themselves.

"Really! Sirius was just messing around. I'm not a… you know."

_No, Remus, I don't know!_ I had to think. I had to go somewhere quiet. Somewhere better lit where there were no fairytale monsters that I had thought were princes.

I ran away.

**A/N: Darn it Tonks. I guess we can't blame her, she's only a kid! Please let me know what you think. **

**Just a quick question. Would anyone be interested it I felt like adding a sequel to _Like That_? It is my favorite of all my stories so far. I am just nervous because sequels are never as good as the originals... Opinions, please!**


	14. the Sheepsuit Removed

**A/N: Okay, so it's been awhile (sheepish feeling...) but I've learned my lesson! From now on, I'll just write whole stories at once, and I will post them chapter by chapter once they are complete! So, I will write the end of Sheepsuit tonight (warning, I have to go to work, so it may be very late/early) and finish the storieeeeee! I have also deleted "Resonance" from ff for now. I did NOT remove it from my computer, so I may re-post the whole thing once I have COMPLETELY finished the story. I have another one started that I will probably put up before then. It will be my first longer, chaptered L/J, so that's something to look forward to. Anyway, here is the almost-conclusion of Sheepsuit! Assuming you haven't read the last chapter in months, I would go back and find out where we are if I were you. of course, if I were you, I would have posted by now.  
**

**The Sheepsuit Removed!**

It took me a few minutes to calm down and think. _It's okay, Tonks. I mean, it's still the same old Remus Lupin. Nothing has changed!_ And the more important fact: Would the real Lila have freaked out? Had I given myself away again? I smacked my palm to my forehead. I must find Remus! I leapt to my feet and charged to the Gryffindor common room. The dumb old Fat Lady wouldn't let me in without a password, and the only way to get a password was from a Gryffindor.

Luckily, my Gryffindor had come to find me just in time! "I'm right here, Lila," Remus said, eyeing me apprehensively. Poor fellow was probably frightened after my reaction. How could I have been so cruel? _It's the same old Remus Lupin_, I reminded myself. That got me brave enough to talk.

He told me all about being a werewolf. I stayed quiet mostly, nodding and asking an occasional question. I found out that he wasn't dangerous except on the full moon and he had never eaten anyone. I found that I wasn't afraid of him at all, and my mantra _just the same old Remus Lupin_ was very believable with him sitting right there, taking my hand and smiling sheepishly.

He walked me back to my common room and kissed my hand. _Prince Charming,_ I thought. _No fairytale monsters here!_

"Goodnight Remus. I promise I won't ever tell anyone, so long as I live."

He grinned back at me. "I'm grateful. Goodnight Lila."

I danced into my dorm as soon as he had turned his back. I had cracked the secret of Remus Lupin! I know the man behind the mystery now! We shared something very real, something nobody but his best friends knew!

That thought made me freeze. If Remus knows I know his secret, but he thinks I'm Lila… he might bring it up with me later on. But what if I'm not me? What if I'm _her?_ What if he inadvertently gives his secret away to the real Lila, that stupid girl! What if the rumors are true about her, transferring from Durmstrang and being a pureblood maniac? What if someone like _her_ reveals everything? Remus's life would be ruined!

And it would be all my fault.

My blood felt chilly as it ran through me. I had to tell Remus the truth before something terrible happened.

The next morning, he and I went for a walk on the grounds. It was snowy outside, my favorite weather, but I could hardly enjoy it knowing what I had to tell him. I was also distracted by the knowledge that he and the real Lila had snogged. I knew it was silly to feel betrayed, but it hurt all the same. I also knew that I was nowhere _near_ ready to kiss a boy myself! And now I see where lies get you…

I should have learned my lesson, but then I had an odd thought. Has Remus asked the other Lila to be his girlfriend? Am I _expected_ to kiss him? Will he be mad if I don't? I meant to dig around, just to see what the situation was, but when I asked if I was his girlfriend, he said yes! Not yes in the "Well, obviously" way but yes in the "you weren't until you asked but you are now" way. This meant that I had once again mucked things up. The real Lila was completely unaware that she and Remus were dating now, thanks to me, and my lies began to tumble down one right after the other. I had even forgotten what I meant to tell him, because he did something that scared me so badly.

He leaned down to kiss me. I saw him coming closer, I could feel his peppermint breath on my face, the curve of his perfect eyelashes brushing closed on his cheeks, the world slowed down so that I had a moment to think and realize I _could not let him_.

Poor Remus didn't know that I was twelve, and I knew he was going to find out, and that he would feel very, very badly about giving me a kiss. I turned and felt his lips brush my cheeks. Confusion and a bit of hurt showed in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Remus," I could feel the stutter in my words. "I just don't think I'm ready!" _Stupid, stupid girl. I'm so sorry!_

"It's just a quick kiss, Lila."

_Maybe to you! I've never kissed a boy!_ I made an excuse and ran in the other direction as quickly as I could. I had to get my wits about me. I had to tell him the truth before the real Lila found out Remus's secret or something worse! I had to stop lying before I became pathological.

I ran back to my dormitory and pulled the shades around my bed. _What do I do, what do I do?_ I took a few deep breaths and summoned all of my courage. I would simply go find him and explain exactly what I had done. He would forgive me, I knew, because he was one of the kindest boys I had ever met, but he probably would be too embarrassed to ever talk to me again. I guess I could live with that. It's better than endangering his life.

_What will he say when he finds out he tried to kiss a twelve year old?!_

I shook my head. It doesn't matter. I have to do this. I left my dorm and was immediately ambushed.

"Okay, Lila, the gig is up!" I gave a squeak as Sirius Black pounced on me and wrestled me to the ground.

"We don't let girls treat our friends this way!" James Potter pulled his wand. "What'll it be, wench? The jelly legs jinx or a tickling charm?"

"Turn her into a newt!" Peter added.

I gasped. "Please, I can explain everything!" _How did they already find out?_

James did not lower his wand, and Sirius tightened his hold on my shoulders. "Oh? You can explain how, hours after you agree to be my best mate's girlfriend, you are caught _snogging Amos Diggory in a broom cupboard?!"_

"Yes, I can explain everything! That wasn't me!"

"The map never lies!" Sirius bellowed. James elbowed him sharply.

I narrowed my eyes. "What map?"

"It doesn't matter," James snapped. "We know what you did. We thought that you were okay! Are you still going to keep Remus's secret?"

"Or will I have to modify your memory?" Sirius let me go to draw his own wand.

"STOP!" I yelled. Take me to Remus, and I'll explain everything!"

They both lowered their wands and eyed me suspiciously. After a pause, James said, "Alright, but if we're not satisfied, I'm letting Peter try changing you into a newt."

Sirius nodded and crossed his arms. "Believe me, sweetie, that won't be pretty."

**A/N: I will finish this before daylight tomorrow. It's decided. I kind of owe it to you guys... but to be frank, I'm not a fan of this story. It's been a bit of a chore to write. Can't wait to start on my next one!**


	15. Pretty Much What HappenedEpilogue

**A/N: Yeah. Done. Look for my new story, _Merely Players_, coming this December/Januaryish! Luvs.**

**Pretty Much What Happened  
**

"And that's pretty much what happened," Tonks finished.

She cringed and prepared herself for the worst. Remus had listened through the whole story politely, although he had turned red during certain parts and purple during certain others. James, Sirius, and Peter snickered through the whole thing, until Remus made a motion with his thumb for them to get out and leave them alone. Lila had left almost as soon as the story began, because she never liked being tricked and felt that the whole thing was a joke at her expense. She had gone to plan her revenge by shopping and getting a make-over until she looked so beautiful that people would think Remus Lupin was an imbecile to lose her, because frankly, that was the best she could come up with. It most likely would not work.

"Tonks, I'm glad you told me the truth, and I know that must have been hard…" Remus chose his words carefully, not wanting to humiliate the girl any further. "I don't know if it's really necessary for me to break up with you, you understand, because I wasn't technically dating _you_." He wasn't sure how to continue.

"Right." Tonks blushed a deep fuchsia and stared at her sneakers.

Remus was glad that Tonks wasn't the crying type, because he would have had no idea how to deal with that sort of breakdown. "Now you have broken about fifty school rules here, and regular national identity theft laws, but I think that so few people know about it that we can pretend this whole thing never happened. Would that be alright with you?"

"No one wishes more than me that this had never happened," Tonks moaned. "Lila is probably going to tell everyone that I was pretending to be her."

Remus rolled his eyes. "I got the impression that she isn't the type of person anyone will take seriously. I can't believe I dated her."

"Can you believe you dated me?" Tonks slapped her hand over her mouth the moment the words were out.

Remus seemed to consider that for a moment. "I can't believe I almost dated a twelve year old. I am _so_ glad I didn't kiss you!" He shuddered. "But you seem very mature for your age, even when you're not pretending to be a seventeen year old, and you are much more tolerable than most girls, conversation and company-wise. If you were older, I would have said we could be great friends."

"That's all?"

Remus felt like he was treading on thin ice with the girl's feelings. It was a school-girl crush that she would surely get over, and he was hoping that would happen sooner rather than later. "For the mean time, I would like you to think of me, and the other Marauders, as your big brothers. We'll keep an eye out for you, and until we leave Hogwarts, beat up any twelve-year-olds who make plays for you."

Tonks gave a wavering smile. "That sounds great to me."

"And will you promise to stop metamorphosing outside of class?" Remus said with a stern look.

"I haven't really got a reason to anymore. "

"Alright. You behave yourself, kid." He gave her a high-five and headed off to find James, Sirius, and Peter to ask them to lay off teasing poor Tonks.

Tonks gave a long sigh and stared at his retreating back. "I'm gonna marry him someday," she declared to no one in particular.

_**Epilogue**_

Tonks recovered quickly and kept all her promises to Remus, using muggle hair-dye until the day she turned seventeen and keeping all of his secrets. In return, he and the other guys looked out for her and made sure she was always well taken care of until the day they graduated. No one believed Lila's story, because she was known as an exaggerating drama queen to begin with. Still, people did wonder why Remus was such a hesitant dater after that, dumping one poor girl for tripping on the loose edge of a rug and accusing another of being an imposter when she got colored contacts. Tonks swears that she was innocently in her common room at the time of both incidents.

_**fin**_

**A/N: Yeah. Done. Review, I love you? ~LL~**


End file.
